The Hunt For Cardinal Bird
by Nigel Yearning
Summary: When Red Bird went missing after a slingshot accident, the Angry Birds team went out to find him. Awhile lost, Red Bird uncovered a conspiracy which could threaten the lives of his friends and flock. Will he stop the pigs' plan or be eaten for dinner?
1. Ch 1: Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

He sat on a the branch of an old oak tree, looking over the landscape. How the sun glistened over the slightly mildew grass awhile the day was still young, and how his fellow brethren began their mating calls. Peace, it's what all living creatures want. Freedom from hardship, conflict, and oppression. Red Bird knew how to enjoy his days well, he had a mate and three offspring, which he called his flock.

With the eggs hatched, Red Bird could at least take a moment to relax every time a pig comes near his place. The hell he went through for at least 2 years was still sore in his heart, the beating made it moist and tender, which caused Red Bird to cry. He did his best to purge all of those nasty thoughts from his mind, yet Red Bird could only do was to treat the long-term effects of his experience.

A soft smile could easily be noticed on his face, as his eyelids were just skimming the boundary of his irises. Relaxed as any bird can be, Red Bird let his mind wonder as he stared out into the beautiful meadow of his homeland, a land he shared with a diversity of birds, and one species of pig. How about that, nothing to worry about for one day.

Just when things were going well, Red Bird heard the branch he was resting on crack. Had he been a little to heavy, or the tree who own the branch had enough of being used as a footstool? Whatever the reason, the branch gave way, and Red Bird tumbled down and headbutted the world.

"Oww!" he squawked in response.

He rolled onto his back and laid there as he stared up at the tree above him, the branch he was sitting on was hanging onto the tree by a thin layer of bark. The doctor had told him not to put minor stress to his skull, due to the fact that it developed a lot of weak-spots from previous sieges upon pig structures. Maybe that's what his brother had, weak-spots all over his skull, when it split open like a watermelon upon impact against a stone castle. The thought crossed Red Bird's mind almost immediately, he successfully held it back with his might awhile fighting back the tears.

As he lay there, he heard a voice chirped through his ear. He looked to his side and saw Orange Bird, seeing how cute Orange Bird was made Red Bird forget the sudden pain he felt from the fall. The little bird pushed him back upright, Red Bird took a moment to redeem his balance before taking a deep breath.

"How are you doing little guy?" he asked.

"Good," said Orange Bird, "But you don't seem to swell, Red."

"I was doing fine," explained Red Bird, "Yet the tree had other things in mind."

"How did you get up there anyway?" asked Orange Bird.

"I climbed up there, how else I got there."

"That's odd since you don't even have limbs."

"Neither do you."

"Are you still grumpy?"

"No, since your here."

"Why?"

Red Bird felt his temper began to billow up within him, he held it back and calmly said, "Do I have to explain why?"

"No." said Orange Bird.

"We'll leave it at that."

Red Bird started walking down the meadow, grumbling to himself. Why do the little birds always make me angry? Red Bird thought. Little birds are simply kids in their own right, just fledglings who left the nest and become independent. What made them annoying was the fact that they never stop talking, or they like to pull a fast one on you. In this case, Orange Bird picked the wrong time to be asking questions when Red Bird was trying to keep his cool.

"Hey!" the little bird called out, "Wait!"

Orange Bird came after Red Bird as he gained enough distance from the tree that dropped him, seeing that little bird running up to him made Red Bird's feathers ruffled, "Go away, kid!" he retorted, "I don't want to deal with you at the moment!"

"I just wanna hang out is all." said Orange Bird.

"I do to," Red Bird snorted, "And look what happened to me, I was dropped on my head as a result."

"Oh come on Red, spend time with your flock. Hello? Red? RED!"

His voice fell of deaf ears as Red Bird walked away, leaving Orange Bird stumped from his behavior.

After getting about a hundred meters from him, Red Bird was alone again. Finally, he could have peace and quiet to himself again. No loud squeaking birds chirping into his ear, just him and his private thoughts. How about that, no noise. Might as well go home as it was louder, Red Bird began to head straight for home without a second thought.

It took awhile to get there, but he made it back to his small hut he had been living in for years now. Home sweet home, he thought, Might as well find some relief here with the flock. Of course, not everything goes well in Red Bird's world. So when he walked through that door, three chicks: two boys and one girl, came running after him with swift speed. Before he could do anything, they tackled him onto the ground.

"Daddy!" he all chirped in unison.

"Oh hey little ones," said Red Bird as all of his offspring stepped aside as he gets back up, "What were you three up to?"

"Not much." said one of the birds.

"Causing trouble I suppose."

Everyone giggled in response.

Aw, thought Red Bird, Nothing like family time.

"Red," said Female Red Bird as she came out of the nest in the corner, "How's your walk?"

"Good," lied Red Bird, "Did anyone need me awhile I was gone?"

"Yellow Bird called," said his mate, "Looks like some rebel pigs had stolen a few of his flock's eggs again."

"When did he called?"

"About a few minutes ago."

"Where's the coordinates?"

"Here."

Female Red Bird handed him the coordinates on the GPS system, "Thanks mate," said Red Bird, "I'll be back till dinner."

"Be careful," said Female Red Bird, "I don't want you coming back home with a concussion."

Red Bird chuckled before he turned and walked out the door, once outside he checked the coordinates on the GPS system. Hrm, he thought, It's only 3 kilometers away, might as well start walking now.

It was a long walk, if Red Bird had the ability to fly he might as well save time. Having long walks wasn't new to Red Bird, it was all part of the job. Protecting eggs from the clutches of pigs requires lots of travel, he had been underground and in harsh terrain, chasing the pigs to the far corners of the world. His father was impressed, during his time he didn't perform a lot of travel. Red Bird would might not had made it this far in his career if not for his friends' support, since he could do little against the more sturdy pig castles.

After almost an hour of walking, Red Bird spotted the pig castle within the distance. It was heavily fortified, solid stone that had cavities in them from the siege. The slingshot was no more than 15 meters away, perched up on a slightly higher elevation as always. He could see his friends catapulting themselves off of the slingshot and into the wall, how painful it was from every thump off of its walls.

Okay, thought Red Bird, Here we go.

When Red Bird approached the slingshot, his friends nearby caught sight of him. "Hey Red," said Yellow Bird, "Finally you've showed up."

"Why do I always have to be the last one to arrive?" he asked.

"What were you doing when we called upon you?" asked White Bird.

The thought of crashing from the oak tree's branch came to Red Bird's mind, "I was chilling up in a tree." he replied.

"Well," said Yellow Bird, "Can you see if you can get inside that castle and sabotage it from within?"

"What about the eggs?" asked Red Bird.

"The blue bird trio managed to retrieve them awhile ago," said Black Bird, "I'd never seen such teamwork in awhile."

"Then why are you birds still attacking the pigs?"

"To finish them off, what else?"

Black Bird hopped onto the slingshot and pulled back on the band, then launched himself at the castle. He flew straight into one of the windows of the castle, an explosion occurred, followed by a plume of smoke belching out of the window. "Why not you give it a shot?" asked White Bird.

"Well," said Red Bird, "What the hell."

He got onto the slingshot and stretched it out to maximum velocity, before he was able to launch himself Boomerang Bird approached the slingshot and tried to get on. "Boomerang!" cried Red Bird.

But it was too late, the clumsy bird accidentally pushed the slingshot to an angle as Red Bird looses his grip. Instead of flying straight towards the castle, he was launched over the castle and into the sky. Red Bird screamed with emotions of humiliation and terror as the castle became a simple speck from his point of view, he flew over a forest for a few seconds before he dove into it.

Once he was below the treeline, he smashed into a few branches, even crashed on one with his privates, then tumbled onto the forest floor with an unnoticeable thud. "Ca-caw." moaned Red Bird as stars clouded his vision before his world closed the blinds on him.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Ch 2: The Search Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The Red Baron, also known as Red Bird Senior, sits quietly in his recliner as he stared into the fire of his fireplace. The retired Angry Birds leader had been through a lot, the last Angry Birds war was beginning to haunt him after the end of the second. Due to the fact that he had killed the pig king and had his successor sign the treaty, didn't sit well for the pigs. His son however, managed to put those problems to bed by having him face justice.

Since he was now an elder and had a case of osteoarthritis, he managed to avoid jail time. With the past behind him, The Red Baron was now able to spend his entire retirement in peace, or so he thought. His mate was by his side, had been since the end of the first war. If anyone could calm him down, it would be her. "Honey," she said, "When's the last time you've ever went out for a walk."

"Had been about 10 years," he said awhile still staring out into the fire, "I'm too old for that kind of activity now."

"Sure," she said sarcastically, "You're going to sit there and waste away and not check up on your fellow children."

"They don't need me anymore, Big Brother Bird is managing well and Red Bird has kids to take care of now. I don't wanna interfere with their lives by popping in and continue to baby them."

"Remember how cute they are," asked his mate as The Red Baron eyed the family portrait on the fireplace mantle, "When they were first born?"

"From what I recall," said The Red Baron, "We adopted Big Brother Bird and raised two chicks of our own, simply to put that the world had provided a lot of opportunity for them that they spend most of their time defending eggs."

"We wouldn't have children if not for you rescuing them when they were eggs."

"A part of me wondered if I had raised them right. I mean, they were very emotional and are sensitive about a lot of things."

"So were you, then you got fat and old."

The Red Baron chuckled, "Those were good, and yet, horrible times, at least I don't have to relive them."

There was a knock on the door, The Red Baron tried to get up but a sharp pain in his back prohibited him from even leaving the chair, "Stay put honey," said his mate, "Don't strain yourself."

His mate approached the front door and opened it, before her was Black, White, and Yellow Bird. They appeared to be concerned and horrified, Red Bird's mom figured that it something was up. "What happened?" she asked, "You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"I don't know how to put this," said Black Bird, "But to make a long story short, Boomerang Bird tipped over a slingshot awhile Red Bird was on it and now he was somewhere lost within a forest."

"Oh my," said the old bird, "Honey, Red is in trouble!"

The Red Baron managed to climb out of his chair and approach the front door, "Is he hurt?" he asked worriedly.

"From the height he was launched," said White Bird, "We doubt he landed unscathed."

An uneasy feeling settled within the pit of The Red Baron's stomach. He and Red Bird were close, it wasn't new that Red Bird would wound up missing but this time was different. If Red Bird is hurt, there's no way he would last long without help.

"Where did this happened?" asked The Red Baron.

"Near a pig castle," said Yellow Bird, "He landed somewhere within the Swine Forest."

"The Swine Forest?" asked The Red Baron, "Lets head there now. Honey, stay here, I'll be back before midnight."

"Be careful," said his mate, "Your muscles aren't in tune as they used to be."

Red Bird's friends took his father to the location of the last skirmish against the pigs, the slingshot was still there but the castle was now in complete rubble. With the pigs long gone, The Red Baron figure out how to make sense of what had happened. So Boomerang Bird knocked the slingshot within an angle, he could see that clearly as it was leaning what looked like 70 degrees backwards. Using mental mathematical calculations, The Red Bird theorized that his son was launched 70 meters into the air and traveled at least 500.

"Where do we start?" asked Yellow Bird.

"There might be a place where I think he'd landed," said The Red Baron, "I hope my geometry skills hadn't failed me. Okay flock, follow me and lets try to locate Red's landing site."

The Red Baron and the Angry Birds head off into the forest behind the castle, before they were able to head in completely, they heard small voices calling out for them, "Wait for us!"

They all turned and saw the Blue Bird trio and Orange Bird, rushing up to them. "We can help!" cried Orange Bird.

"You sure you want them to tag along old bird?" asked Yellow Bird.

"A bigger search party may be needed," said The Red Baron, "Come along kids."

Clearly he was rushing, The Red Baron had picked up such devotion to his young when he lost one of them. The loss of Red Bird's brother was heartbreaking, when he had received the news about the incident days after it happened he grew more attached to his remaining son. Red Bird wasn't the same since the accident, and so also shares his bond to his father. To birds, family is everything, no selfish desire can overcome family. Since the eggs were in constant danger, it's easy to see why.

Seeing that his son had nearly died several times made The Red Baron's anxiety shoot up, maybe to the point where he could be diagnosed with hypertension. His mate share this feeling, and get anxious when trouble had stricken their son. Big Brother Bird does his best to ease the suffering of his adopted flock, but there was so much he could do. Now Red Bird was missing, again, and all The Red Baron wanted to do was to get away from his fears for once. A brief moment would be enough to be considered a blessing.

"Hang on son," said The Red Baron out loud, "I'm coming for you."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Ch 3: The Wilderness

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The world came back to view for the unconscious Red Bird. His eyes flickered open and he saw a tree canopy towering above him. Almost every part of his body felt sore from the hard fall, he laid there for a moment awhile trying to get his bearings.

Where am I? he thought.

It was strange that the forest floor felt extremely comfortable, or it was Red Bird's feathers that were cushioning him. Whatever the reason, Red Bird knew that he can't spend all day here, he had to find a way home. So he got it together and used his might to stand up, once he was back on his belly the full pain from hitting a dozen or so branches came in full force.

"Ow," he grumbled, "Owww."

He leaned up against an oak tree and took a moment to relax his bruised muscles, if everything hurts then he must go to the hospital to see if he was alright. Red Bird kept that thought in mind, judging by how much hurt he was in. He took a deep breath and let's go of the oak tree, he nearly fell over due to the aches in his belly. Was that hunger, or internal bleeding? Right now, Red Bird couldn't tell the difference.

"Gotta get home," he mumbled to himself, "Damn you Boomerang Bird, wait until I find you so I could strangle that neck of yours."

Red Bird examined his surroundings, maybe if he traced the broken branches he could pinpoint his way out of here. Around him was thick vegetation that had been growing for maybe hundreds of years. Red Bird saw the branches he broke up near the forest roof, potential "widowmakers" ready to break loose to claim their next victim. His heart began to stiffen, now he wanted to be out of the area or-.

CRASH!

It came from behind, Red Bird turned around and saw a huge widowmaker laying before him. A thundered like boom that got his attention was enough to scare Red Bird out of his senses, but seeing what caused it and realized how close he was to being seriously injured or killed, was enough to make him crap himself. Ironically, Red Bird literally loosened his bowels and soon found a pile of his own steaming feces behind him. Wasn't that hilarious, why not do it up in a tree and ruin someone else's day?

Red Bird began to head off into the forest, he was all but embarrassed from his little mess he made. Oh well, leaving poo is better than leaving nothing when your fellow friends are trying to look for you. Assuming that they're looking for you.

Well they had to be looking for Red Bird, right? They all saw where he went, maybe they would find him in a jiffy. Due to the danger of widowmakers in the area, Red Bird grabbed a stick and wrote a message in the mud in big capital letters: "CAN'T STAY, WIDOWMAKERS!" He finished it off by making an arrow out of rocks to point where he was going, truth was Red Bird didn't know where he was going. He can't tell where home was, nor where the way out of the forest is.

Red Bird began walking, he wondered where he'll end up. Either somewhere around the ocean or right into mountainous terrain. If anything bad happened along the way, he will make sure that they're worth telling to his children.

As he walked along, he can't help but thinking if he was alone out here. A lonely bird is an unhappy bird, and Red Bird wondered if the locals would provide at least some comfort. He doubted it though, Red Bird knew how territorial birds are, judging by how they pound the guts out of insects for disturbing his eggs. Small birds will charge at their provoker, then pull away at the last minute. This tactic was suppose to scare them off, but it sometimes never work on humans. He recall one species of bird that swoops down and peck on people's heads when they come wondering by, he'd forgotten what species they were called, but he remembered how hilarious their tactics were.

For larger birds, they will attack their provoker outright. Since birds are very persistent, they won't let up. Geese would be vicious, yet ducks would calmly waddle away as their young follow them. He hope there weren't aggressive birds living in the forest, even though he was an Angry Bird, that doesn't mean the situation will be on his own terms.

So far, there weren't any birds nor wild animals anywhere. Maybe it autumn and the birds are down south as the mammals were stuffing themselves for winter, Red Bird felt a little chill when he realized there weren't any insects echoing out their mating calls, in fact it was plain silence. The way the sun was positioned tell Red Bird that night will be falling soon, he dread what he would find in the dark. If he was lucky, his imagination would be the night predator that could eat him alive.

Luckily, Red Bird had great skills when it comes to living off the land. He'll need a freshwater source, a simple stream would do. Humans of course would have to boil the water do to the bacteria that lives in it, their immune systems were weak, wild animals go by daily life drinking and eating their own feces. But that was just human perception, if the animal was starving, then their immune system will fail them. Classic common sense for Mother Nature.

Red Bird found himself a little stream, it had rushing water. Rushing water was good, since bacteria replicate slower in rushing river. Not if Red Bird cared or anything, but its best to be safe than sorry since there were no obvious signs of food anywhere, if sick, Red Bird would be killed by a predator if the micro-world hadn't finished him off already.

He took a sip of water, drinking it slowly, Red Bird hoped that whatever was living in the water won't reek havoc with his intestines. Oh that would be bad, parasites would love to live there because that's the place where they reproduce, which explains the tummy ache and diarrhea they tend to cause. To truth, Red Bird preferred to have the squirts rather than getting eaten by a bear.

Red Bird finished drinking and took a step back, he gazed at the water for a brief moment before figuring out a plan. If I follow the stream, he thought, Would that bring me back to civilization? Red Bird looked up in the sky and saw it was getting darker. He wondered about taking shelter near the stream, since forest creatures of all kind will flock here to get a drink.

He wasn't in the mood to find out, for Red Bird if he goes downstream it will lead him to the ocean. Heading upstream will lead him to the mountains. Okay, so somewhere between the ocean and mountains was civilization, and it might as well lead him back to familiar grounds. It took awhile for Red Bird to make up his mind, and so he chose to go upstream.

As he walked, he care to look back just to see if anyone was following him. He had been ambushed from behind and lost, Red Bird wished not to let it happen again. He covered some ground as the water began to rushed faster past him, noting that the incline was becoming more steep, he expect to be walking into the mountains very soon. Once there, he would stand on top of one of their peaks and get a good view of the landscape.

After a few more meters, Red Bird spotted a trail up ahead, a wooden bridge closed the gap over the creek and continued that trail. He spotted something coming down the trail, instinct told him to jump into the bushes. Once in a safe hiding place, Red Bird peaked out and got a good look at the hikers. It was the pigs, the green pigs were just walking along, hoisting stuffed sacks over their shoulders.

It was a convoy, the line went on almost like forever. It puzzled Red Bird, What were the pigs up to? he thought. He saw one of the pigs dropped something from its sack, the pig ignored it and continued marching in line as whatever he dropped slowly fell to earth before being trampled on by the other pigs. When the convoy past, Red Bird stepped out of the hiding place and rushed over to the road to examine what the pig had dropped.

There it was, Red Bird saw a blue crumpled feather. Such blue feather would belong to the Eastern bluebird. He didn't care what bird the feather came from, Red Bird wanted to know why it fell out of the pigs' sack. Were they harvesting feathers from birds? Plucking them bare and use their feathers for sleeping furniture? It made sense to Red Bird, feathers are at times necessary to make mattresses and pillows.

But something caught his eye, Red Bird picked up the feather and examined it in fine detail. Looking closely, he saw speckles of blood on it. That kind of blood splatter pattern can only be made by a blunt-force object, Red Bird dropped the feather in shock.

"This isn't good," said Red Bird to himself, "Bloodstained feathers falling out of huge sacks that could break your back is never a good sign."

Red Bird wanted to know more, he felt something build up inside of him, a certain kind of fear that he never knew he had. Evolution had built it in millions of years ago, it was the first time Red Bird had experienced it. Something was telling him, warning him, of the danger he had discovered. A danger of what? Being plucked nude or being killed? Maybe both?

These questions Red Bird desperately wanted to be solved, and so began walking down the trail, following the pigs' footprints in the dirt. That fear was telling him to turn back and head home, to forget about what he had found. Red Bird insisted himself he must find out what was going on, and he's not going to let weakness get in his way.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Ch 4: Discovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The sun was setting, The Red Baron had searched the forest from top to bottom, yet found no sign of his son. Red Bird's friends were getting tired from searching, yet they were no where near as tired as his father. After many hours of searching, the old bird sat down up against the tree. He can no longer go on, his osteoarthritis was making his suffering worse. The Red Baron took a deep breath and closed his eyes, soon the memories came back to him.

When Red Bird was just 4 years old, The Red Baron took him to oversee a pig siege skirmish. The chick was all but fascinated, which surprised The Red Baron at the time. Normally the youngsters enjoy seeing birds launching themselves at the pig castles, crushing and crumbling them until they fall apart. Red Bird was all but impressed, the look on his face says it all.

"What's wrong, son?" asked The Red Baron.

"Its the slingshot," said Red Bird, "Its barbaric, and I'm not sure if it makes any sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Why not storm the castle and take the eggs?"

No bird had ever questioned the slingshot in Angry Birds history, ever. It was ironic that the leader's own son would ever questioned it. The Red Baron realized that his son was right, it doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, birds were killed from using this method, all in an effort to reclaim a few priceless eggs. He had never thought of it before when he first used the slingshot, but when his son brought it up, he wondered what he had seen what he missed.

The Red Baron had his eyes off of his son for a moment, focused on the pigs inside their god forbidding castle. They were either laughing, or watching. They kept their snouts out of the window sills which was smart, since the blue birds have a habit of aiming for the windows. After a few more launches, The Red Baron glanced where Red Bird once stood. He was gone.

He panicked, he frantically looked around and realized he was no where in sight. Had he gone to the bathroom? Or went home? Whatever the reason, the fact that he was gone didn't sit well in The Red Baron's mind. Suddenly, without warning, there he was. Red Bird came walking around the back of the castle, carrying with him the three eggs the Angry Birds were after.

The Red Baron's jaw dropped when his son approached the group and presented the eggs before them, they all cheered in joy. The pigs inside the castle who saw what had taken place were just as stumped as The Red Baron. He approached his son and asked: "How did you get the eggs?"

"I broke in through the back door," he explained, "The pigs weren't even paying attention, so I snatched the eggs awhile their backs were turned."

Red Bird took advantage of the moment, and won. Even though that was twenty-something years ago, the memory was still fresh in The Red Baron's mind. His son had forgotten that day, yet he rediscovered the tactic when in hard times. What Red Bird said about the slingshot was barbaric didn't sink in until his brother died, that's where The Red Baron fully understood what he meant. When the old bird was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, it finally all makes sense to him.

"Sir?" said a voice, "Red Bird Sr.?"

The Red Baron opened his eyes and saw Black Bird before him, "Its getting late," he said, "We have to call the search off until morning."

"Very well," said The Red Baron as he gets back up, "Thank you for your help youngins, I appreciate it."

"Your welcome." said White Bird.

"I just wondered if he was managing well, my son could be dead from a fall that high, I can easily picture scavengers eating his body as we speak."

"There aren't any scavengers around here." said Yellow Bird.

"That's relieving," said The Red Baron, "He could be hurt, maybe a rib broken. I hope he would hang in there till tomorrow."

The Red Baron and the Angry Birds soon head back for home, once the flock was out of the woods, all the bird depart for home. As the old bird head home, he sensed someone was still following him. He turned around and saw the blue bird trio and Orange Bird not that far behind. "Hey kids," said The Red Baron, "It's getting late, you should get home before dark."

"We know," said Orange Bird, "We're just following you because you look like you're going to break down."

Always with young people spotting things he would inevitably missed. In fact, the doctor told The Red Baron not to travel alone due to his condition. He sighed, and nods: "Okay then."

He continued for home with the kids following not far from behind, when he reached his home the kids began to depart, "Bye Mister!" said the blue bird trio in unison.

"See you kids later." said The Red Baron in return.

As the kids leave, The Red Baron opened his front door and stepped inside. His mate was sitting in the nest, she appeared worried and was on the verge of depression. "I couldn't find him, honey." said The Red Baron.

"At least you tried." said his mate.

"Just going through that forest," said The Red Baron as he cuddled next to his mate, "I mean, it's like marching for miles. I'm too old for this, I'm tired, I feel so worn out."

"We're old now baby, Red Bird knows how to survive out there on his own. He'd done it before without much problem."

"I know. I just wanted him to have my support awhile we're still around. He's an adult now, but he's not fully mature yet. Tomorrow, I'll see if Big Brother Bird would help in looking for him."

"He's always protective of Red Bird, makes sense to get him involved."

"In fact, that what he always wanted to do, he told me that himself. No wonder he named himself Big Brother Bird. Adopting him was well worth it, but there is so much we could do."

"I couldn't understand how our son got lost in the first place, what did you find awhile you're out there?"

"From what his friends told me, he was launched through the air and into the forest. From the height he fell from, he could be severely injured from the fall, maybe killed."

"Now I see why everyone was so worried, this is not good to hear."

"He had fell down to earth from a great height before honey, broke almost every bone in his body upon impact."

"If you weren't there, he would've been long gone."

"I know. I just hope history don't repeat itself."

. . .

The trail took a long time to follow, yet Red Bird kept pace with the pigs. Night had finally fell and Red Bird was barely keeping up with the pigs in the dark. The faint glow of their flashlights make it easy for Red Bird to lock on to them. After following them for about an hour, he reached what appeared to be a large pig encampment. Red Bird hid in the bushes and watched as the pig convoy drop their bags in a pile.

The encampment was somewhat big, it looked like there was some sort of operation taking place here. There were machines, hooks, and ovens, lined up in a certain order. There were carts and rails leading out of the encampment, probably they were shipping the final product out. Whatever they were working on, it wasn't good.

Red Bird saw a couple of pigs wearing goggles as they grabbed a couple of the bags and opened them, he was petrified when he saw them dumped out actual birds came out of the bags. The birds were dead, the life literally beaten out of them. As more birds were dumped onto a conveyor belt, the more gruesome they appear. Some of which were covered in their own blood, others had horribly disfigured faces, making them unrecognizable. One bird didn't even look like a bird at all, just a blob of feathers.

That fear that was bugging him when he found that feather grew, it was screaming at him to run away, yet he held his ground. Red Bird must see this through.

The dead birds were taken along on the conveyor belt where a team of pigs grabbed onto them and began plucking their feathers, grabbing handfuls of them and ripping them off their skin. Once they were plucked naked, they were dropped back onto the conveyor belt where another team of pigs cut their bellies open and removed all of their organs. They even removed the eyes, and also bashed their skulls open to remove the brain. All of these organs were placed in a wastebasket before the pigs set them back down onto the conveyor belt and send them off.

The next team washed them from the blood and gore, removing most of the pathogens that came from their own digestive tract. Red Bird had to admit that they were doing a good job at cleaning up the birds, they even washed out their mouths. They washed them for at least a couple of minutes before they were rinsed off and send down the conveyor belt for the final process.

This final process is where the pigs grabbed the birds and impaled them through a metal rods, once the rods were full of birds they were suspended over a burning fire where they are cooked.

Oh my god, thought Red Bird, They're cooking birds so they could eat them.

That fear that was bugging Red Bird for awhile was now boiling over the top, Red Bird realized it was the fear of being eaten as someone's meal. He suddenly began to feel dizzy, Red Bird rushed back into the forest until he got a comfortable distance from the pigs' camp, where he regurgitated for a few seconds. Groaning and moaning, Red Bird flopped backwards and laid on his back. His brain tried in vain to process the horror he had just scene awhile trying to make sense of it all.

Looks like they were moving on from the eggs, now they were after the birds themselves. Red Bird imagined the pigs farming the birds until they were fat and plump, then slaughtered for Thanksgiving dinner. He hadn't seen any terror like this since the 2nd Angry Birds war, where the pigs were experimenting with hens so they would lay eggs for them. This was no where close to what Red Bird had saw, and he was disturbed by it.

What should he do? He thought about rushing back home to where he would tell his friends and family about the pig's butchering operation, then have a dramatic battle to where they were able to free captured birds and defeat the mastermind who made it all possible. Yeah, that's the way to go, yet Red Bird had no idea which way was home, and he doubted the pigs back there would even help him.

He thought about this, thought about it hard as he stared up into the darkness above him. He couldn't make up his mind, seeing how much work he had to do was attacking his ability to make a decision. Luckily for Red Bird though, a baseball bat that came out of nowhere and hit him hard on his head made his choice for him.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	5. Ch 5: News Spread

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The Red Baron didn't sleep well throughout the night, he kept having nightmares of bad things happening to Red Bird. He dreamed of him laying on the ground in the dark, helpless, crying out for help. The old bird tried his best to reach him, but every step feel like he was being driven farther and farther away from him. Until finally he saw a towering pig looking down on him.

He woke up and saw daylight pouring out of the windows, his mate was cuddled by his side awhile still asleep. The Red Baron sighed as he began to step out of bed, "Honey," his mate mumbled, "Where you going?"

"I'm going to try to find our son again." said The Red Baron.

"Let me come with you, I gave birth to him so I should help find him."

"I don't wanna argue with you mate, you can come, but we're going to need some extra help."

The couple got ready and head off for Big Brother Bird's house. Big Brother Bird lived somewhere in the mountainous terrain nearby, they approached the cave he took residence in. Trash was scattered all over the entrance, the cave was anything but clean. The Red Baron insisted on Big Brother Bird getting a door built on the mouth of the cave due to intruders, he simply sided that there wasn't much worth of anything to be taken. Besides, Big Brother Bird wasn't a bird to sneak up on anyway.

When The Red Baron and his mate approached Big Brother Bird as he slept near the back of the small cave, the red-tailed hawk's eyes opened and they darted towards them. "Well this is certainly a surprise," said Big Brother Bird, "It's been awhile since I've last seen you guys."

"Red Bird is missing," said The Red Baron, cutting to the case, "He's somewhere lost in the Swine Forest and we need all the help we can get."

"Baby bro is missing?" asked Big Brother Bird.

At times, Big Brother Bird called Red Bird "Baby bro" since a lot of birds referred him as Little Brother Bird, though Red Bird wasn't too pleased with the nickname. He managed to let it slide, unless someone began to tease him about it.

"What happened?" asked Big Brother Bird.

"Yesterday he was launched from a bad slingshot and he was thrown into the forest," said The Red Baron, "We tried searching for him right way but night fell in on us. Big Brother, can you help us find your brother?"

"Why not," said Big Brother Bird, "I'll come with you."

Big Brother Bird got out of the crude nest he followed the couple to the area where Red Bird was last scene, sure enough his friends were there waiting for him among the pig castle ruins. "Man, I missed some fun," said Big Brother Bird as he saw the rubble before him, "You birds never tell me anything interesting, all you tell me is birds being missing and stuff. Even though I'm called Big Brother Bird, doesn't mean I am only capable for defense."

"We never call you because you're a horrible flier." said Black Bird.

"Well, I don't need to go as fast as Yellow Bird to destroy a castle." retorted Big Brother Bird.

"Hello?" called out one of the blue birds, "Red Bird anyone."

"Right, right." said The Red Baron, "Everyone stick together, we're going to make our way through the forest and try to locate Red Bird's landing zone. Once there, we'll either see if he's still there or had wondered off somewhere nearby."

With that, the group head off into the forest. Unlike the last search where they skimmed the forest, they're going to push in deep, following Red Bird's trajectory. It was when they saw broken branches and a huge log in the middle of the forest where they found their first signs of activity. "I think this is it." said Yellow Bird.

"Red!" cried out Big Brother Bird, "Are you there!"

"Red!" cried out Orange Bird.

"How do we know if he was here or not?" asked White Bird.

The Red Baron looked around carefully before he spotted something, it was a pile of poo, some creature probably left it there. He looked at it carefully and can easily tell that it was made by a cardinal, animals leave a unique poop signature, a trained eye is needed to identify it. "Come look at this," said The Red Baron, the flock came together and saw what The Red Baron had found, "He's here alright, that there is cardinal poo, and cardinals are few and far between in these parts."

"That's not all he left behind." said Yellow Bird.

The group looked at Yellow Bird and they saw what he was looking at, it was a message, a note written in rocks by Red Bird for them to find: "CAN'T STAY!" it reads, "WIDOWMAKERS!"

Big Brother Bird looked back at the huge log before looking at Red Bird's feces, "No wonder he left the pile of crap here," he chuckled, "Widowmaker scared the crap out of him, literally."

"What's a widowmaker?" asked Red Bird's mom.

"Falling tree trunks or branches," said Big Brother Bird, "They're known to kill married loggers, hence the name widowmaker."

"Thankfully that log didn't leave my son's mate widowed."

They saw the arrow pointing towards Red Bird's general direction, the flock now had a lead. "Can someone go to Red Bird's house and tell his mate what was happening?" asked The Red Baron, "She must be worried sick about him."

"I'll do it." said Orange Bird.

As Orange Bird toddled off, the flock began to follow Red Bird's arrow. The Red Baron began to have hope that Red Bird was alive, he was close, he could feel it. All he need now was a little incentive to find Red Bird's exact location.

. . .

Female Red Bird sat in the nest back in her and Red Bird's home, the three chicks sat there snuggled under her bosom, kept warm by her internal body heat. It already had been a day since Red Bird had left, she didn't understood why he hadn't come back. It was just a simple job: Take care of the pigs as usual. Yet he hadn't returned, was it taking longer than usual?

She thought about the day she first met Red Bird, it was just a few days before Valentine's Day. Female Red Bird was busy running the usual errands, groceries, shoe shopping, all that girly stuff. It just so happened that she passed a pig castle awhile it was under siege by the Angry Birds. She was too far off to be noticed, yet close enough to see the bird's faces. And there he was, the son of The Red Baron.

Female Red Bird had read the autobiography of The Red Baron, which was not surprisingly called "Angry Birds." He was just a mere legend to her, didn't know much of his personal life. Though she heard on the news about his son was taking over his position, yet never saw him in person, until now.

He was handsome, looked like his dad when he was around his age. Red Bird had that look in his eye, that "famous look" where fans tried their futile attempts to imitate it. Female Red Bird soon fell in love at first sight, she never knew that she would meet Angry Birds team members, even associate with them. She watched as the castle crumbled and all the birds down their cheered, pigs were scampering away like wild dogs.

Ooh he's gorgeous, thought Female Red Bird, I wonder where he lives.

The Angry Birds team eventually departed, and each bird went their separate ways. When Red Bird was alone, Female Red Bird began to stalk him, followed him from every step of the way. Amazingly, as smart as Red Bird was he wasn't that bright. First of all, he never looked over his shoulder at all and second, he wasn't paying attention at all, which aloud Female Red Bird to get just 5 meters close to him.

It was when Red Bird approached a nearby cluster of trees and tried to climbed up one of the trees, Female Red Bird realized this was his home due to all the trash laying around. He bedroom was just a small hole in the tree, and his living room was just a thick branch where he could sit on. When Red Bird reached the top, he lost his grip and fell. Female Red Bird gasped as she jumped towards him in time and caught Red Bird before he hit the ground.

"Oof." went Red Bird as he landed into Female Red Bird's arms.

When Female Red Bird sat him down, Red Bird wondered who had saved him. "Who the." said Red Bird as he turned around, and saw Female Red Bird right before him.

"Hi." she said nonchalantly.

Red Bird was speechless, frozen stiff almost. After a few seconds, he snapped out of his trance. "Hellllooo." he said.

Hearts began hovering over head, and the two bonded right there.

Suddenly everything exploded and Female Red Bird was dragged back to reality, in response to the banging on her front door. She blinked twice before she managed to stumble out of the nest, the chicks she was keeping warm awoke and poke their heads above the rim of the nest as they watch their mother approach the front door. When Female Red Bird answered it, she saw Orange Bird on her doorstep.

"Hey little guy," she said nicely, "What are you doing here, you know my kids are too young to go out and play."

"I'm not here for that," said Orange Bird, "Something happened, Red Bird is missing."

Hearing those four words made her let go of the door and gasped, "What happened?" she asked.

"He overshot the slingshot," explained Orange Bird, "And plunged into the vastness of the Swine Forest, everybody is looking for him now."

"How long has he been missing?"

"About a day."

"A day!"

Female Red Bird nearly fainted, she gulped and try to string her words together, "Thanks," she said, "Thank you for telling me, I was worried sick about him not coming home and now..."

Her voice trailed off, her brain had maxed out of words since it was overloaded with shock. "His parents are leading the search," said Orange Bird, "Including Big Brother Bird."

"Big Brother Bird? Oh that lazy son of a... Err! Okay, you know what? Orange Bird, stay here. Light a fire in the fireplace and keep an eye on my kids, don't let them go outside, they're bodies aren't mature enough to handle the cold."

"Where you going?"

"I'm going to go find my mate, and bring him home."

As Orange Bird heads inside, Female Red Bird heads out. "Are you sure you wou-"

The door closing behind them cut Orange Bird off. Female Red Bird knew Swine Forest well, as she used to live in the area. She rushed towards the forest as the adrenaline kicked in, it had been awhile since she had ever been hiking but she still had the steam to run. The thought of pigs capturing him and repeating what had happened to him years ago was red hot in her mind, she couldn't bare thinking of it.

"Red," said Female Red Bird, "Oh where are you!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	6. Ch 6: Captured

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

"Oww." Red Bird groaned as his eyes flickered open.

The last thing he remembered was that it was night, now it was day. And instead of tree canopies and sky, just a thick dull gray slab of metal. The sight of it scared Red Bird, but when he looked around, now he was really scared.

We was within the pig's encampment, trapped inside of a small cage. The pigs must had spotted him, and they caught him off guard. Foolish, Red Bird was always the curious bird and now he wasn't getting any more chances. The pigs had him, again. Red Bird should have turned for home and told his friends what was happening. But noooo, he followed the pigs and discovered that they were eating birds and wound up literally, on the menu for tonight's dinner.

He wasn't totally upset yet, since he had gotten first hand of pig generosity at their capital. Red Bird examined the cage more closely, it was thick iron vertical bars that were probably no more than 3 or 4 centimeters wide. The top and bottom plates that enclosed the entire cage seemed rather thick, made out of solid steel. Red Bird had been imprisoned by this kind of cage before and actually broke free from one of them, but that was with the help of a couple of friends, he can't bash his way out of the cage on his own.

Seems that Red Bird was placed near the railroad, probably ready to be shipped out. He saw a pig pushed a minecart down the rail, it joined up with a train of them. He watched as the locomotive at the front blown its whistle before heading down the rail. When the last cart was out of sight, he turned and saw a few pigs looking at him. "Which one of you hit me last night?" asked Red Bird.

"I'm not sure," said one of the pigs, "We lost track of who did you in, I think it was one of the newbies."

"Now I have to ask why you are here spying on our base of operations." said a large pig, wearing what looked like an old British explorers hat.

"I saw your convoys, followed it, saw what you pigs were doing, and lost my breakfast."

"No wonder I stepped on your puke when I have to remove you and lock you into that cage."

"Boss," said one of the pigs, "You do realize this is Red Bird, the son of The Red Baron. He signed a treaty with King Pig to end the second Angry Birds war."

"I know who he is," said the pig boss, "And I've also seen the signing of the treaty his father signed with King Pig when he was barely on the throne."

"You were one of King Pig's right-hand men," said Red Bird, "That explains the mustache and the white eye brows."

"Was," said the pig boss, "Until I resigned, right after you left the pig capital for the final time. I have to admit that I never liked your father since he'd killed the last king, I was one of the pigs who were task to bury the body. But you, you're something else. King Pig told me that you wanted your father stand trial for the crimes he had done, so he could, put the past to rest, as you say it. King Pig had all but pardoned him for it all, I never knew you would be such a diplomat after what you've went through."

"Hard times, but I managed well."

"Old pigs like me, were skeptical of your performance of your singing."

"Oh, I liked his singing," said a pig, "My wife wouldn't stop talking about it."

"Yes," said the pig boss, "Of course, I thought King Pig had your brain re-wired, but it looks like he was on your side all along."

"You old folks never like change," said Red Bird, "I blame the fact that the brain degrades after the age of 25. When around middle age and beyond, it becomes more and more harder to learn something new. As wise you are, it is best to make sure that the knowledge you've gained over the decades aren't in danger of going out of date."

"Haven't heard that before. Even after those numerous blows you've taken on that head of yours, you're still a smart bird."

"Though the brightness had dimmed, and look where I am now."

The pigs laughed as the boss sighed, "You've played this game too many times. You know that not all pigs will obey the Angry Birds Treaty of 2011, which is what you're seeing around you of course, but you didn't seem to have this in mind when you signed the treaty, do you?"

"I predicted it, I knew it would happen after seeing my mate was being used to lay eggs."

"Looks like the world revolves around you Red Bird, yet the world will always betray you."

"It didn't betray me, I got myself into this mess and I curse that damn Boomerang Bird for pushing me in further."

"Birds, they're just like the pigs when presented with a ridiculous situation, incompetent beyond any level."

"Agreed."

A pig wearing goggles came walking up to the boss in a bit of a hurry, "Sire," he said, "We got a problem with the ovens again."

"Why do these things break down anyway?" asked the pig boss as he followed the engineer pig to the ovens, the other pigs simply departed after that.

Red Bird sat in the cage grumbling to himself on how he got himself into this mess, after a few minutes had passed he got bored, after half an hour he was getting increasingly frustrated. His butt was already sore from sitting for a long period of time, and now he was faced with another problem.

His belly began to feel like a vacuum, then it rumbled. Hunger had set in, and the cruelest irony was that he was in the middle of a food operation. Minutes later, his tongue felt dry and now he was thirsty, or dehydrated for all he knows. The sweet, yet disturbing, smell of cooked brethren was filling the air. It made Red Bird's mouth water and stomach cry, it made him want out of the cage.

He began to bang up against the bars, they didn't budge nor did they even shift at all. Pigs began to take noticed of his torment, some even walked away from the production lines just to watch, "Let me out of here!" screamed Red Bird as he began to bash his body against the bars.

It didn't last long, Red Bird hit the bars with his forehead, it hurt so badly that he simply collapsed onto the floor of the cage. He moaned, now he had accepted the fact that there was no way out of the cage alone.

"Okay you swine," said the pig boss, "Get him onto one of those minecarts and get him outta here, he's worth enough trouble already."

"But sire," said one of the pigs, "He's hungry, can we just-"

"Not another word until he's gone," said the pig boss as he's gone, "Or I'll throw you into the dungeon for treason!"

"Yes... sire..."

Two engineer pigs lift up Red Bird's cage and placed him on a cart platform and actually welded the cage to it, Red Bird shield his eyes from the sparks of the welding sticks, they were brighter than the sun and could blind him. "Okay sire," said one of the engineers, "He's ready for transport."

"Where you're taking me?" asked Red Bird.

"Who knows," said the pig boss, "Whatever the next train takes you I guess."

As if on cue, the next train had pulled up and the pigs shifted Red Bird's prison cart and hooked it up the the locomotive, followed by carts of freshly cooked birds. Red Bird was in good sight of them, he tried his best to look away at their roasted forms.

"Okay," shouted the pig boss, "Send her away!"

The main train blown its whistle and it began to roll, "See you later, Red." said one of the pigs.

"Goddammit!" snorted the pig boss, "What did I told you!"

The train soon got a move on, Red Bird sat tight in the cage and watched the trees past by. Thinking that he was alone, Red Bird burst out crying. "I wanna go home!" he sobbed, "I wanna go home!"

He drop down to his side and let out all of his frustration, crying as loud as he can. He kept repeating he wanted to go home, Red Bird thought that he was going to spend the rest of his life a slave, he would be lucky if he were to be eaten by pigs. He cried for help, wanted someone to break his bonds and free him. Red Bird knew that no one was going to hear him, or so he thought.

"Hey buddy," he heard a voice, it sounded calm and mysterious at the same time, "Come on, talk to me."

Red Bird looked up and saw what looked like a little bird. The bird was tan, its feathers appeared dirty. A scar came down from its left cheek to its side, it looked like a baltimore oriole. Stunned, Red Bird got back up to his feet and looked at the bird dumbfounded.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Name's RJ," said the bird, "I heard your cries, so I came to help."

He was still surprised, it was too good to be true, "Oh thank you," said Red Bird as he hugged RJ, "I was so terrified that I-"

"Thought you were going to die alone?" finished RJ, "And be forgotten?"

"Yeah."

"I know you you are Red Bird, heck, most birds know your face and name since you're the son of The Red Baron. I heard about your disappearance and how your friends and family were looking for you."

"They're looking for me? Its too good to be true! But even if it is, they're not going to go that far to search me, who knows how far this train will take me."

"You mean us? I've been dealing with these pigs for years, in fact I remembered the first Angry Birds war and the skirmishes preceding that. I'm actually at least 95 years old, already had my birthday a few weeks ago."

"Ninety-five! That's old, yet you look so young!"

"A bird my size don't last that long, maybe about 40 years. A red-tailed hawk can live around a hundred years for all I know, for your species it could be at least 60 years."

"Sixty? My dad's in his mid-sixties. He's an old bird that is too fragile to do what he used too."

"Alas, he's running off of borrowed time. You gave that time to him by making him happy, now you're out of the picture it won't be long before The Red Baron dies an unhappy bird."

The thought stung Red Bird hard, he realized if he wasted time getting out of pig captivity then he'll find his father dead once he returned home. He'll miss the funeral, and maybe his mother would die from Broken-Heart Syndrome and break down as well. Red Bird would also miss her funeral and pretty much be left stumbling around, his family would be shredded apart from his emotions, he doesn't want to pass down his suffering to his children.

"You're right," said Red Bird, "If I take too long getting out, I won't ever see him again."

"There is still hope buddy," said RJ, "I can figure out a way to get you out of there, I've broken free birds like you from the pig's clutches. And I did it in less than three days, since you're a stubborn fella I'll try to break you out the first night during your imprisonment over where you're going."

"You know where this train is going?"

"This is one of the oldest railroads in the Rovio Region, the pigs are taking you to one of the most advanced pig structures ever made. I've been there myself, the place is far beyond words. I have to go now, I'll figure out on how to on how to break you out of the pig's grasp."

"Before you go, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"How did you live so long?"

"Ha ha, when I was around my forties I was close to dying. My entire system wanted to shut down on me, I was so tired and weak that I just which death would hurry up and take me already. But this doctor, I don't know who he was, but he saved me with a procedure that removed old non-functioning cells from my system. He saved my life, and I was able to live for another 40 years until the same doctor injected me with nanobots that reinforces my immune system and remove all the cellular damaged caused by age. That was just a decade ago, I'd never saw him since."

"Wow. Now how are you going to get off the train?"

"Same way I got on."

With that, he jumped out of the train without warning. "Bye!" he called out.

Red Bird saw him inflated into a large globe as he crash landed onto the ground, smart bird. He soon became smaller and smaller until Red Bird could no longer see him anymore. Hope as it seems had been restored, for now.

"This is going to be interesting." said Red Bird.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	7. Ch 7: Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

Even with a boost of confidence from the surprise visit of an old bird, Red Bird still dread what he would go through in the pig castle. Maybe when he arrives, the pigs would kill him and he would join the rest of the unfortunate birds who were cooked and eaten. Maybe RJ would recover his body, hopefully in one piece, and deliver it to his parents saying how sorry he was. That kind of respect overwhelms other kinds of respect, making sure that a comrade returns home when he doesn't make it.

Red Bird was a living legend in his own right, just like his father. But that doesn't mean he would be treated as such, once the pigs realize how much of a person he really was. Maybe there are some old pigs who are hail-bend on his death, maybe they wanted to do it with their own hands. He gulped at the thought, though he'll might have a better chance of survival with younger pigs. If there's a bird heaven somewhere out in the universe, he hoped it wouldn't be boring for all eternity.

The train soon left the forest, and now Red Bird was on the face of a cliff. The path cut out for the train was no more than 2 or 3 meters wide, Red Bird was actually just a jump away from the edge. He looked down over the edge and saw a bottomless landscape, fog covered the ground below, if there was any ground at all. A sheer imposing cliff wall that stands half a kilometer high was on one side and a seemingly endless void at the other, Red Bird was right between them, at least it wasn't raining.

BOOOM!

Thunderclap, Red Bird jumped from hearing that.

Within minutes, rain began to pour from the overcast skies. The ceiling of the cage kept the rain from pelting him from above but the velocity of the train let in the rain from the side, getting Red Bird all wet. Suddenly he heard a machine-like sound, Red Bird turned and saw double doors coming up from the sides of the carts of butchered birds, forming an arch as they sealed the top of the carts from the elements. Looks like the pigs are treating the dead better than the living, at least Red Bird won't be able to look at the birds anymore.

He sat there as the shower of cold rain pelts his body, normally his feathers would keep him warm but not when they're wet. Heck, its almost winter, and it was already felt cold enough for water to freeze. Even though Red Bird was cold, wet, and hungry, the rain provided freshwater for him to drink. He opened his mouth and let some water came flying in, bit by bit at a time, until his thirst was quenched.

Red Bird began to shiver, not good, shivering is the last measure for the body to keep warm. He felt numb all over, he once again curse the pig boss who stuck him in the small cage. He hadn't anticipated the weather to go south, he began to think that he was going to freeze to death. Suddenly the train was approaching a sharp turn of the cliff wall that goes inward, the path goes through the cliff, down a darkened tunnel.

The tunnel was about 2 meters wide, there was no telling how long the tunnel was. Eventually Red Bird was going to find out as the train roared into it, and everything went dark. Red Bird was a bit spooked from the dark cave, since he couldn't see much. He hoped that it won't taken him deep underground, where there's not much of a chance at escaping. After a few minutes, the train was out of the tunnel, Red Bird gasped at what he saw.

"Whoa," he muttered in awe, "That is one big castle."

It was a gargantuan fortress, made out of solid iron. The iron had a reddish-tan color to it, maybe caused by the rust it had to endure from the elements. It looked impenetrable from an army's offenses, Red Bird had seen similar but nothing like it before.

The rain had slowed down to a manageable level, to much of Red Bird's relief. The train slowed down as it turned towards the castle walls, Red Bird looked down and saw that the castle was built on a platform just above jagged rocks. It looked like a 400 meter fall, no way any creature would survive a fall from that height.

The train soon lumbered into the castle and into the station, Red Bird could see the pigs gathering around, looking forward to unload the train. The station was all metal, the metal had a reddish-tan, just like outside. Perfectly clean, not a single speck or smudge. The air smelled like rust, maybe that was why the iron was so red, or the smell was coming off of an different source entirely.

When the train was fully inside the station, it made a smooth stop. The pigs wearing goggles got to work on removing the cargo, they were a bit stunned when they saw Red Bird trapped in the cage. A couple of engineer pigs approached Red Bird in caution, he growled at them when they came near. "Easy there birdie," said one of the pigs as he pointed a gun at him.

Red Bird's heart sank as the pig fired at him, instead of a bullet it was a dart. A tranquilizer gun. The sting caused him to collapse onto the floor alone, then whatever chemical the dart had pumped into him began to take hold. He suddenly felt dizzy and eventually pasted out, "Good bird," said one of the engineer pigs in a rewarding tone, "Good bird."

It wasn't long before Red Bird soon reawakened, this time he found himself strapped into an operating table tilted to a 45 degree angle inside this small room. Red lights lit the room, making the mood like a horror movie. It was all real, Red Bird can be sure. He wondered why the pigs strapped him here, were they going to do surgery on him? Whatever the reason, Red Bird want out, and so he tried to struggle free from his bonds.

That's when automatic doors opened up and two pigs wearing a doctor's head mirror and facemask came walking through, Red Bird saw them and froze, he knew that this wasn't a good situation to be in. He tried to scream, yet his mouth was sealed with tape, he tried to squirm his way out of the straps but couldn't break through.

As the pig nears, a vent hovering above Red Bird broke way, the vent fell to the floor, and with it came a surprise: RJ. The pigs squealed from the sight of the old bird, Red Bird watch as he shot across the room and rammed himself against one of the pigs and slammed him up against the wall, he then rammed the other one a milli-second later and send him flying out of the room. Both pigs were knocked unconscious in less than 2 seconds.

"Still got the charm," said RJ, "Eh chap?"

RJ hopped onto the operating table and removed Red Bird's gag with his beak, "Whoa!" said Red Bird, "You're part of the Angry Birds team."

"I've worked with your father," said RJ, "I only joined the team so late in the Angry Birds war that he probably didn't even remember me."

When RJ undo Red Bird's bonds, Red Bird slid down from the operating table and onto the metal floor, "This place was actually an oil platform," said RJ, "Now it is being used for experiments by the pigs, its so secret that not even King Pig knows about it."

"We gotta blow this place up!" cried Red Bird.

"They just so happen to be storing a few tons of TNT next to the room housing industrial boilers. If we set fire to the TNT, the whole thing should explode."

"I have to ask, how did you get in here."

"Slingshot, I landed on the roof and sneaked through the air vents."

"Go figure."

Suddenly an alarm went off, RJ's entry hadn't gone unnoticed, "Come on," he insisted, "We don't have much time!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	8. Ch 8: Getaway

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

Red Bird and RJ rushed out of the room and down the hall, red lighting illuminated the way as lights on the sirens flashed in a pulsing matter. As they continued down the hall, a door opened and a pig spotted them. They managed to leave the hall in time and dove into another, for a moment Red Bird thought he was running around in circles.

"Do you know where's the TNT store RJ?" he asked.

"Yes Red," said RJ, "Follow me."

RJ went through the corridors and zig-zag from room to room, Red Bird tried his best to keep up with him. He was running out of energy, but he summoned up what was left to keep going. He had to keep going, he couldn't quit. This little old bird was helping him escape, he was old enough to remember what was life like before the Angry Bird wars. Maybe he wanted to make the future similar as the past again, so blowing up the pig castle was a good start.

"Okay Red," said RJ, "Here it is."

"Thanks RJ," pant Red Bird, "I was starting to feel sore from all that running."

The birds approached the door that was obviously labeled, "Explosives Store", the door was locked so RJ bashed the door open near the door knob. The door popped open and the birds made it through, they were stunned to find crates of TNT piled on top of each other in the massive room. There was enough TNT here to blow up the castle alright, maybe a little more to kill everybody as well.

"Blimey," said RJ, "There's more TNT here than I thought."

"More TNT means bigger boom," said Red Bird, "Do you have a lighter on you."

"No." said RJ, "Is there an alternative?"

"They went down here!" said a pig out in the hall.

"Oh sh#t," cursed Red Bird, "Hide!"

Red Bird and RJ scrambled deep into the store room as the pigs came barging in, their were 5 armor pigs armed with pikes, they appear quite young. Red Bird watches from above as a familiar pig that walked into the room, it the pig boss from the encampment. "Find 'em!" he ordered, "Find Red Bird!"

He watched as they began to walk around the TNT crates, he held his breath, knowing that discovery would mean execution on the spot. Red wondered where RJ was, and he found him on top of another TNT pile looking down on the pigs. The look on his face shows that he was getting ready to expand, "No," he whispered to him, "Don't do it!"

But it was too late, RJ expanded and knocked a huge crate over. A couple of armored pigs didn't see the TNT crate came coming down on their heads, the pig boss and the rest of the group turned and saw the crate as blood began to pool underneath. "By all the gods." said the pig boss.

Goddamnit! thought Red Bird, Here goes nothing.

Red Bird jumped off the TNT crates and charged towards the group of pigs, "Ca-caw!" he called out as he rammed one of the pigs into the TNT crates.

Even though they were wearing helmets, the force was still capable of knocking him out. The pig boss, still stunned from the crate drop, was furious, "Get him you swine!"

The 4 remaining armor pigs came charging at Red Bird, he jumped onto one of the sides of a TNT crate and thrust himself at the pigs. He crashed through them like a bowling ball as they were knocked aside like pins, how useless they were. Their pikes were tossed aside like match sticks, one of which embedded itself into a TNT crate. As Red Bird stood his ground, he didn't see the the pig boss came charging at him. He was knocked hard against a TNT crate as another crate came crashing down, dumping bags of orange TNT flakes everywhere.

"Why do I have to send numerous soldiers at you and you wipe them all out with ease," asked the pig boss, "Yet I'm able to take you out with ease?"

"You're smarter," said Red Bird as he got back onto his feet, "Have you ever thought of educating them?"

The pig boss grabbed one of the pikes off the floor and used it to pin Red Bird against the crate, he pressed hard, clamping down on his trachea. "I've should have got rid of you when I had the chance," he said, "I make sure you die quickly."

"Kill me," coughed Red Bird, "And the new generation... will turn against yours."

"RED!"

Red Bird looked up and saw RJ throwing down a molotov cocktail at one of the TNT crates, his mouth dropped, where the hell did he get a molotov anyway? "Oh crap." said the pig boss as he let's go of Red Bird.

He dropped the pike and rushed out the door, Red Bird dropped to the floor before everything went white. A few seconds past before the world came back to him again, when he opened his eyes he discovered that he was no longer in the pig castle, but outside high into the air. Was he going to bird heaven? No, he looked down and saw the pig castle up in flames as the TNT was busy ripping it apart.

"Oi!" cried out RJ.

Red Bird looked around and saw RJ was about to fly past him, "Grab onto me, Red!"

Red Bird grabbed onto him as RJ blows himself up like a balloon, once big as a globe, RJ felt strangely comfortable. The world slows down as Red Bird relaxes, he felt relieved, he was going to make out of this alive. He made a mental note to thank RJ if they made it out alive. Just as soon as the world slowed down, it sped up again from a massive jolt.

He didn't see the ground incoming, upon impact RJ deflated back to his normal size and he and Red Bird bounced twice before rolling across the ground for 50 meters. By the time Red Bird slowed to a halt, he was dizzy and nauseous, he laid there on his back for awhile before RJ came to his mind. "RJ!" he called out for him.

No response.

"RJ!"

Red Bird tried to get back up, once he was back up he looked around and saw RJ. He was motionless, the old bird laid face down after he took the full force of the fall. "RJ!" cried Red Bird.

He rushed up to the old bird and picked him up, then turned RJ so he was facing him. "RJ!" Red Bird cried, "RJ, speak to me!"

The bird didn't respond, Red Bird was shocked that he wasn't breathing. Oh no. thought Red Bird.

Red Bird placed RJ back onto the ground and began to breathe into his mouth, he tried pressing on his chest for a few seconds before he continued to reply air into his lungs. Finally, after a minute of trying, RJ sucked in a gulp of fresh air as if he was taking his first breath. The old bird wheezed as Red Bird cradled him, "Easy," said Red Bird, "Easy."

RJ opened his eyes and looked directly into Red Bird's, "Red," he said, "You're bleeding."

"What?"

Red Bird looked down and saw a harsh scrape on his side, it looked bad, he and RJ need medical attention. He couldn't tell how far he was from bird civilization, but since he knew how to navigate across the land he knew exactly where to go. So Red Bird picked up RJ and head off to where he thinks is home, he doesn't have much time to waste.

"Just hang on RJ," said Red Bird, "I'll get you home, I'll get you help."

"Odd," he said, "I can't feel my legs."

"You never even had any legs."

"Makes sense."

"Does anything hurt RJ?"

"No, but it does hurt when you press me on the belly."

"You've landed on that area, are you dizzy or anything?"

"No."

"Good, if you are then it would've been bad, cause it's a sign of internal bleeding."

"Have you had it before?"

"Yeah, I've been dropped high in the air before and broke almost every bone in my body."

"You're a lucky bird, you really are the Son of The Red Baron."

"True, I'm not sure my dad still has his endurance though."

"I have to admit, you are so beautiful. If you're a woman, I would marry you."

Red Bird's eyes widen, well that's good to hear. RJ chuckled and sighed, "I'm just kidding."

Red Bird made his way through the woods, clutching onto RJ tightly. As he ran through the woods, shrapnel began crashing down from the sky and through the tree canopy. They were pieces of scrap metal, Red Bird could tell, they came off from the castle they had just blown up. A stray piece of metal would end it all, and make Red Bird's friends and family miserable.

After running for an ungodly amount of time, Red Bird looses his breath and slowed down. He approached a tree and sat at the foot of it, he pant loudly and collapsed, still holding onto RJ.

"RJ," said Red Bird, "I don't know if I could go on."

"Red," said RJ, "You're over-thinking it, you gotta calm down."

"You're right," said Red Bird, "I'm just too tired, I'm starving, my mate and kids are worried sick, my dad might drop dead. Oh god, I am not getting onto a slingshot ever again until the day I die."

"Had you ever heard of KISS?"

"What's KISS?"

"Keep It Simple Stupid."

"Very funny."

"I'm serious."

Red Bird thought about it and got back up, "Keep it simple," he said, "What's simple?"

A loud whistle sound roared through the air, Red Bird's jaw dropped in response. "You have to Red," reassured RJ, "As much as it pains you don't want to."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	9. Ch 9: Out Of Our League

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

His son could be anywhere by now, or that was what it seems to The Red Baron. He already searched every corner of the Swine Forest, even the hollowed out rotting logs from former trees. It had already been hours, will The Red Baron will go through a third day of search? The longer Red Bird is missing, the chances of him being found alive dwindles. Maybe he'd overlooked something, ever since Red Bird's trail had gone cold.

He fought back the tears, he couldn't cry now, it was way too early for those kind of emotions. There was still time to search even more, The Red Baron would love to continue, but his self-esteem and energy had run dry. He tried to get through by scraping the bottom of the barrel, but soon crashed, hard.

"I... I need a rest fellas," said the old bird, "My joints are killing me again."

The Angry Birds team stopped as The Red Baron sat on a down log, his mate got a seat next to him as he leaned on her shoulder. "How did my son vanish so fast?" he asked.

"He did have a reason to move," said Black Bird, "The widowmakers he made in all."

"But he didn't have to move that far."

"Red Bird likes to wonder a lot," said The Red Baron's mate, "He was such a little thing to keep up with."

"I've already lost one son," said The Red Baron, "I don't wanna loose another."

"We should try searching past the creek," said Yellow Bird, "Maybe getting the pigs to help."

"Maybe they had something to do with it," said White Bird, "Rouge pigs who thirsts vengeance, or rouge birds if Red is even more unlucky."

Stay out of the negatives, thought Red Bird, It's not going to help, not going to help.

"Red can take care of himself," said Big Brother Bird, "When we moved out of the nest, he didn't even stay at the place I'd had already settled up. He went out and lived up in a tree, spent the first few weeks and months living in it until-"

"GUYS!" cried a voice.

Everyone turned and saw Female Red Bird running after them, "He got a love partner." Big Brother Bird finished.

Female Red Bird approached and slowed down and pant, The Red Baron was more dumbstruck than surprised. "By god," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to join the search party," said Female Red Bird, "I had Orange Bird watch over the kids, I don't know what to do Baron, I just don't know what to do."

"I'm pretty much almost all out of options here too," said The Red Baron, "We clearly need more help, I'm just too tired now."

"Red is just like you, he almost always comes back home saying that he's tired and just wants to rest. Either its when he was out knocking over castles or running errands, he always comes back drained. Family genetics I suppose."

The Red Baron let out a grin, "That's my Red, I wasn't able to get him to do much anyway. He always reads when he was a chick, not much sports or anything."

"I was able to get him to do something," said Big Brother Bird, "I didn't use much effort, he always tag along when he didn't want to."

"I see why you've earned the name Big Brother Bird," grumbled Female Red Bird, "Not Big Fat Lazy Bird."

"What? I clean up good."

"Of course you do."

"Enough you two," demanded The Red Baron, "We have to look for Red, you know."

"Where is Red exactly?" asked Yellow Bird.

"My Red Bird Junior always like the high ground," said Red Bird's mom, "Maybe he's up in a tree somewhere."

"Hey guys," said one of the blue birds, "Do you smell something?"

The Red Baron took a good whiff, sure enough there was something cooking nearby. "Smells like chicken." he said, then everybody looked at White Bird.

"You joke about me and stared at me for a reaction?" he barked, "Some friends you are."

All the birds laughed, to much of White Bird's frustration. "Where's the smell coming from anyway?" asked Black Bird.

"This way." said Yellow Bird.

They followed the scent trail to its source, their instincts had led them to a wide open clearing. Someone had been here recently, there was several fire pits and a railroad next to it. The scent came directly from the still-smoldering ashes of the firepits, clearly some sort of operation had taken place. "What was here?" asked Black Bird as the blue birds sift through the hot ashes with a stick.

"Whoever was here," said The Red Baron, "Is now gone."

"Hoofprints," said Big Brother Bird, pointing out several tracks of hoofprints, "Pigs, they were here."

"Why were they here?" asked Female Red Bird.

"Hey guys," said the blue bird trio in unison, "Look at this."

The birds crowd around the blue birds as they used a stick to pushed out charred bones out of the ashes of the fire, "Bones," said one of the blue birds, "But what kind?"

The Red Baron examined them, his heart sank, he knew exactly what species of bird they are. "They're bird bones," he said, "Chicken bones."

"Now I'm not complaining." grumped White Bird.

"Guys," said Yellow Bird, "Look at this!"

The birds turned towards Yellow Bird, he was near the train tracks holding something: a couple of red feathers.

"Red Bird," said Yellow Bird, "He was here."

Yellow Bird handed the feathers to The Red Baron and he examined it, "Just what I feared," said The Red Baron, "The pigs got him, they'd got him."

At that moment, they heard a loud whistle. They look down the tracks and saw an incoming train, "Get back everybody," warned The Red Baron, "That train isn't stopping for anything."

They watched as the train roared passed the birds, it was probably a couple of kilometers long, the main train was tugging along a couple dozen blue cars. The Red Baron saw that each of the identical looking cars bear a blue and white "Energizer" logo on their sides. Could it be carrying lithium? Since blue batteries are considered to be lithium in the Energizer brand. No, that might be ultimate lithium, not advanced lithium.

The train lumbered out of the area, when its rumbling grew faint the birds stood there in silence. The trail had gone cold, Red Bird was no where to be found. They could search along the tracks but they don't have the resources and time to do so, the sun was heading towards the horizon, it would soon be dark and there isn't anymore time to search for Red Bird. They must return home.

"We'll call it a night guys," said The Red Baron, he turned to his mate and sighed, "Let's go home honey, Red Bird can hang in there for a second night."

"Normally I would oppose," said Red Bird's mom, "But since its almost dark, I have to agree with you."

"I better be going then," said Female Red Bird, "I dread what I would find back home, the kids must be causing trouble for Orange Bird."

"Bye, Female Red." said the flock.

"Bye."

Female Red Bird walked off, her head held down low to the ground. When she was out of earshot, The Red Baron sighed, "Poor thing, she had been through a lot already."

With that, the birds depart and head back home.

. . .

The pig boss climbs out of the debris from the ruins of his castle, his cheeks burned with rage and humiliation. That Red Bird had ruined his business, destroyed literally everything. He couldn't salvage what's left of the fortress since the fires had destroyed the remains, thankfully the blast had blown him out of the castle and into the meadow nearby. Though a lot of debris from the castle was scattered around the area, which had partially buried the pig boss in it.

Nearby, the pig boss saw his British explorer's hat, laying on top of some sheered metal. He picked it up, dust it off, then put it back on. "Wait until I get my hands on that cursed cardinal!" he growled.

He could see it now, he imagined his hands clamped around Red Bird's neck, strangling the life out of him. The pig boss wouldn't kill him, yet, first he'll drop him in a aquarium tank, pump it full of electricity until his eyes explode, then kill him with a red hot dagger to his heart. The infinite number of ways to torture Red Bird will do little to appease him, he wanna make sure that Red Bird dies at his lowest low imaginable.

The pig boss thought of it for awhile, he develop an evil grin on his face in the end. He knew what to do.

Fellow pig servants came to and approached the pig boss, they were bruised and confused from the explosion, they were mostly okay however. "Sire," asked one of the pigs, "What happened?"

"Red Bird," he said, "He blew it all up, we're going to hunt him down and even the scales."

"He's long gone sire," said a pig engineer, "We don't know where he went."

"Yet I know the location of his house," said the pig boss, "His chicks are fair game, we're going to kidnap them and hold them at ransom."

"Is that all sire?" asked an armor pig, whose helmet was cracked from the explosion.

"No," said the pig boss, "Once Red Bird is within reach, we'll finish him off and head home. That simple."

"I don't like any bit of this," said a average pig, "I don't even wanted this job."

"Me neither," said the pig boss, "To much of the king's stubbornness, he task us to provide fresh meat products for the capital. Thankfully we already shipped out all the poultry before the explosion, yet we need a new base to process all the damn birds."

They stood there for a moment to let the feeling sink in, then the pig boss got it to gear, "Okay you swine, let's get to work."

The pigs followed the boss as they made their way through the forest, the servants began to complain that their feet hurt after just 5 minutes of walking. Clearly the pig boss was annoyed, but he had to make do with 4 pigs. Either the rest were killed or went AWOL, he could always get more at the capital. But that was for another time.

They made it through the woods and eventually found another savanna, the pig boss knew where exactly where to go since the pigs had been to Red Bird's house before. Sure enough, the crappy hovel of his was there, sitting near a boulder and another vast forest. The pig boss had to do this fast, or else he'll face the wrath of Angry Birds before his King's.

He approached the door and kicked it in with little effort, inside he saw Orange Bird and the 3 cardinal chicks he was after. The chicks were soon surprised, Orange Bird took more time to react though. "Hey," he snapped, "What the?"

The little baltimore oriole's eyes went wide open, his face said that Orange Bird went to shock. Without wasting anytime, the pig boss kicked Orange Bird aside and knocked him into the wall. He slumped to the floor out cold. With that obstacle out of the way, the pig boss pulled out a sac and scooped up the chicks. He ignored their cries as he knotted the end of the bag and hoist it over his shoulder, he turned towards his subordinates and grinned.

"We got them," said the pig boss, "That was more easier than I thought."

"Where do we go now?" asked the pig engineer.

"I know of a castle not far from here," said the pig boss, "We'll take shelter there. Once settled in, we'll draft up a letter, send it to The Red Baron, and wait for a response. Let's get outta here, I heard Red Bird's mate is sensitive so I do not wanna be around when she comes back."

"What if she was here to begin with?" asked another pig.

"Then it would be more of a challenge."

The pigs soon left with the cardinal chicks, leaving Orange Bird laying on the floor helpless. The pig boss can already smell revenge coming to play, it smelled better than chicken. That damn Red Bird would soon be in his grasp, all the pig boss need is a little incentive from him.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	10. Ch 10: When Darkness Falls

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

"I can't believe you talk me into this plan." said Red Bird.

"What?" asked RJ, "We're getting back home faster."

"Yeah but, I hate trains."

"Why? Because the pigs shipped you off in one?"

"Well, I hate trains even more after the pigs send me away in one."

Red Bird began to feel nauseous, he had been in the train car for an hour now and his belly wasn't agreeing with the plan. He thought it was impossible to throw up, since he hadn't had anything to eat in two days. It was dark in the car, sunlight crept in through the cracks of the door, providing the little light available. He had RJ rest in a nest he managed to make out of salvaged material, the old bird was too weak to do anything, Red Bird must provide the important tasks. The wound on Red Bird's side was taken care of, or it had taken care of itself since it had clotted to form a protective scab. Even though Red Bird was injured himself, he was able to perform the vital tasks. Since they'll be on the train for awhile, might as well see what was here.

Boxes was stuffed moderately in the car, they all vary in shapes and sizes. Red Bird saw that it was all labeled "Energizer," and on each boxes was a sticker with a short profile and description of the products they contain. Red Bird tried to walk in the car, he was wobbling from the dizziness brought upon him from train sickness, he managed to open one of the boxes and peer inside. The box contained Energizer batteries, no, not ordinary batteries, lithium batteries. What good is a box of every battery size provide them? Probably nothing, but Red Bird wasn't going to stop there.

He managed to find a box with a sticker saying that it contains flashlights, Red Bird opened up the box as if he was unwrapping a present from Christmas. Inside the box was flashlights, the ones that require 2 Double-A batteries to operate. He found one flashlight that was designed to operate on lithium, conveniently enough it already came with two Double-A lithium batteries. Red Bird grabbed it and ripped off the package, then inserted the Double-A batteries inside. When he turned it on, it gave off a powerful glow bright enough to stun any creature with eyes.

"That's amazing," said RJ, "Back in my day, flashlights weren't that bright. I remember my father had bought the first flashlight ever made back in 1899, it was called a flashlight since it can only give off brief flashes at a time. You have to wind it up to get the bulb going, it only gives off... What? 5 lumens? How much lumens does that flashlight give off?"

Red Bird looked at the packaging, "One-ten," he answered.

"Amazing," said RJ, "Did you know that the company that first sold the flashlight in the market is now owned by Energizer?"

"Everready?"

"Blimey, Red. You know your history well."

"My dad tutored me when I was a chick, he told me more than I need to know about pretty much of everything."

"The Red Baron, how long had I seen him? Since the seventies? You look just like him in almost every detail, except he was more aggressive, vicious like a hawk as we old birds say."

"He mellowed with old age, even though he still perform his job he does it a little slow since the family jewels weren't producing testosterone as they used to. As you can see, they had served their purpose."

RJ laughed out loud, "Just like your old man, a sense of humor."

"How are you holding up RJ?"

"I'm doing fine actually. You know, when I landed from a height of two hundred plus meters, all the wind was blown out of me. Blown out of me so fast, that everything just hurt. Had I collapsed my lung, I might as well be in worse trouble than now."

"I'm not sure I would wanna sleep, I don't wanna wake up in the morning to find you had died overnight."

"Don't worry Red, going through this kind of situation is part of being an Angry Bird."

"Yeah but, I don't feel angry, I feel depressed."

"Had you lost someone before?"

Red Bird thought of it, he fought back the tears. "Yes," he answered, "My brother, I watched him die in an instant."

"I'm sorry," said RJ, "No wonder I found you crying on that pig train."

"His head split open and dumped brain matter everywhere, that was how I knew it was instant death. His body was still twitching by the time I buried him."

"Did you have a funeral?"

"Yes, in fact my brother's death had brought the pigs and birds together. There were a group of pigs who attending, including the king himself. I never seen such sympathy from the pigs before that point in time."

"No wonder it was easier for you to end the second Angry Birds war through peace, instead of a major invasion and assassination like your father had performed in the previous war."

"Yup, not even going through the same torture routine and being a zombie didn't changed my priorities. Well, I had to admit my free will was temporary down, it was all because of what King Pig told me."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me that he steal the bird's eggs, the prime reason why we had both Angry Birds' wars, so he could feed his family. That sounded incredulous, yet he was telling the truth. There wasn't much food to go around anyway, the fruits and vegetables weren't providing the nutrition the pigs need to function. Even though they eat a lot, doesn't mean they enjoy the food at times."

"I never eat my greens when I was a chick."

"I only eat greens for oral care, made some sort of toothpaste out of them. It tasted like grass, yet mint leaves made it pleasant."

"You've brought hope and dreams to the hearts of the masses, yet not everyone agreed with what you had accomplished, both pigs and birds alike."

"The ones who cried for the destruction of the other. An old yellow-billed loon shot me with a crossbow because of that, I never knew what happened to him after the assassination attempt. I heard he was executed with TNT strapped to his body and exploded, typical for the loons."

"Those loons with an _explosive_ temper."

Both birds laughed, "Yeah," said Red Bird, "I never thought of it that way."

"Speaking of TNT," said RJ, "Back in the castle before I set them all off, the pig boss was bantering you about death threats."

"Old fellow, we both agree in a lot of things, though his common sense had become rusted solid. Vengeance is all that drives him, so I won't be surprise if he had survived. If I play my cards right, I might as well get the pigs to turn on him. But I fear I may start a civil war between the pig's generation."

"It's going to happen anyway, maybe not in 20 or 40 years or even in your lifetime, it's going to happen someday."

"Someday... The birds would suffer the same fate, I plan not to be around when that happen since I will be a target, even when I'm dead."

"I think the same way."

Red Bird went through another box and pulled out an electric lantern and stuffed it with D cell batteries, it let out a bright glow which would save the juice in the lithium flashlight. He looked over to the door and saw that light no longer shines through, night must had fallen, the second day had drawn to a close. Good thing Red Bird had got out those portable lights, or else they would've been in the dark. He turned off his flashlight and walked up to RJ and managed to snuggle in a spot within the crude nest, their combined body heat was enough to keep them warm in the cold train car.

"The next stop should be coming here shortly," said RJ, "We should wrap up our activities here before we leave."

"Good call." said Red Bird.

The birds waited for awhile for the train to stop, 10 minutes had past and the train was beginning to slow down. Another 2 minutes and the train had ground to a halt. Red Bird picked up RJ and grabbed the flashlight before he opened the car's door, he discovered that they're in a train station not far from home, Red Bird waste no time leaping out of the car and into the night. He thought about his mother and father, hoping that they weren't too upset, or ill. If that were the case, then Red Bird will have to endure hell for another two weeks. He crossed his feathers and hoped that wouldn't happen.

. . .

Already night had fallen, Female Red Bird was just near home. She wondered what to say to her kids returning home without their father, she feared that they would grow up without him. Her heart ached as it twist itself into a knot, the closer she get to home the greater her anxiety grew. She looked back in the past, doing her best to ease her suffering. Female Red Bird recalled the day when they had built the hovel, it only took them an hour or two. All in the while, Red Bird was reassuring her that everything will be fine. She believed his word for it.

"Oh Red," she said, "It's gorgeous."

"And private." he replied, nudging her on the side.

Female Red Bird giggled, "Take me a way, mate."

His singing was good, his moves were a lot better. How Female Red Bird remembered the day when she lost her virginity to him, it was an overwhelming experience, yet a part of her wondered if it was right. She had looked at him as affair for months, almost an entire year. Maybe it was worth it, Red was quite honest with her for the most part. Once they were done with mating, he went on and talked how his father past on the leadership to him. He wasn't sure about the job at first, but took it nonetheless. Female Red Bird wondered if she would be a target.

It still hurts that day when she kicked him out for returning with broken eggs, months went by and her sympathy for him took hold. It doesn't happen right away, it takes time, a lot of time, for it to take hold. Once it did, Female Red Bird began crying about it, she wanted to tell how sorry she was to him. Red Bird, of course, had ran out of steam for anger. So did she, and she wanted love, not hate. Only when she realized how much Red Bird loved her when the pigs kidnapped her so she would provide them eggs, he managed to get her out with diplomacy.

Not only did he got her out with diplomacy, Red Bird managed to cut a deal with the pigs about the eggs. He made sure that the hens that were laying the eggs were only chickens, and they were paid for doing so. Of course, why chickens and no other bird? Its because chickens are able to lay eggs 1 or 2 days at a time, not several weeks. White Bird wasn't happy about it, but the birds let it past by regardless.

Female Red Bird want to put the past to bed, she wanted to settle down with Red Bird and raise a family for once. Now Red Bird was missing, and she felt like the past was coming back. She shrugged off the feeling, and approached her home.

When she realized the door was wide open, a chill ran down her spine, her pulse jumped as she approached the door, expecting some big monster to come out and attack her. The place was dark, she couldn't see anything inside, the hut was also cold so the door had been left open for awhile. "Hello?" asked Female Red Bird, "Babies? Orange Bird? Anybody?"

She heard someone groaning, someone was hurt. Female Red Bird approached the fireplace and lit a small flame, once the fire got big enough to illuminate the place she was too horrified to do anything. She stared at shock at her nest, it was destroyed, bits and pieces of it were everywhere. Female Red Bird began panting, she went and shut the door just in case the intruders were still somewhere in the vicinity.

Where were her chicks? She left them in the trust of Orange Bird, the little bird himself appeared beat up, a black eye says it all. "Orange Bird!" cried Female Red Bird as she shook him vigorously, "Wake up!"

"OW! OW! OW! OW!" he said in rapid fire, "Don't, everything hurts!"

"What happened!" she cried, too shocked to give her sympathy to Orange Bird, "Where are the chicks!"

Orange Bird managed too look at her with his remaining eye, the other one was swollen shut from the bad bruise, "The pigs," he said, "They took them, I couldn't stand a chance. We were trapped, there was no way to save the chicks. Please, I need a doctor, I need a doctor!"

"Calm down," said Female Red Bird, "I'll get you help, it's okay, everything is going to be okay."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	11. Ch 11: Return

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The Red Baron looked down at Orange Bird as he laid in the nest. The little bird had gauze wrapped around his head over his black eye to treat the damage. The old bird had already called for a doctor, he was going to be coming around first thing in the morning. Female Red Bird sits in a corner crying as The Red Baron's mate tried her best to comfort her. First his son, now his grandchildren. The future looked bleak, no, the future appeared to be destroyed altogether. Deep down, The Red Baron felt life had already ended and he was going to die without descendents taking his place. This wasn't something he could pick up the pieces from, he and his mate are too old to reproduce, their bodies already broken down. To him, its all over, period.

His sighed as he sat back down in his plush chair, staring into the flames of the fireplace as their tongues liked the vent that leads up to the chimney. Almost every osteoarthritis-inflicted joint was doing their best to cause pain, and they were succeeding. He managed to pop in a pill of Ibuprofen, the third one today, and swallowed it whole. The pills feel like they're no good, nothing more than a failed placebo. He needed better medication, maybe add anti-depressants to the list. The exercise and stretching therapies were becoming less and less affective, and the sudden loss of his son made sure of that.

He just wanted to give up and die already, all the accomplishments he made in his life seemed pointless now. He asked himself why he had to suffer this torment, yet no reply had came to him, yet.

Please, he thought, Just get me through this.

He dropped the Ibuprofen bottle onto the floor, it rolled across the room and stopped once it reached the mud and stick wall. The Red Baron made no attempt to go after it, he was too tired to move anyway.

. . .

Red Bird dreamed of it now, returning back home to his family and things would go back to normal. He held tight to RJ, careful not to crush his fragile body, as he ran across the savanna awhile underneath the stars. "We're almost there RJ," said Red Bird, "We're almost there!"

"Thank god," said RJ, "I feel better already."

"My parents, my parents will know what to do."

"It's been awhile since I'd seen The Red Baron in person, like 40 years I think. Take me to him, take me to him."

Red Bird could see the hut up ahead, the lights were coming out of the windows. They might be still awake, it had only been a couple of hours since sunset so they might be still awake. He rushed towards the hut, just when he reached the door Red Bird tripped and smacked his face hard against the door. "Ow." he grumbled.

. . .

The loud thud made The Red Baron jump, he wondered where it was coming from until he heard the front door beginning to crackle open. He looked over his shoulder and saw Red Bird walking through, once inside he shut the door behind him. The Red Baron's eyes went big, just when he thought his son was lost for good he came back. It took him awhile, since Red Bird wasn't that much of a hurry. Since he was panting, The Red Baron naturally assumed that he was being chased by someone. He summoned up the strength to get out of his chair and joined up with Red Bird.

"Finally," he said, "I'm back home, I-"

He stop short and suddenly collapsed, slumping backwards onto his back as he dropped a bird and a flashlight onto the floor "Son!" he cried, "Holy... Son!"

"Baby!" cried The Red Baron's mate and Female Red Bird in unison as they rushed over to him.

Red Bird responded with a slight snore, The Red Baron was stumped, he never seen any bird fall asleep that fast in his life before. He was even more surprised of who he brought home, a baltimore oriole, like Orange Bird. The small bird brushed himself off as he looked at The Red Baron directly in the eye, "Oi, Red Baron," said the bird, "It's me, RJ. Remember?"

"Who?" he asked, "From where?"

"I'm a war veteran from the first Angry Bird's war," explained RJ, "I served under your command."

The Red Baron tried vaguely tried to remember his old war buddies, eventually he did remember seeing one baltimore oriole in his army. It had a scar on it's side, and RJ had a scar on his side as well. There was no doubt that this was the same bird.

"I never knew your name," said The Red Baron, "It has been so long, I remember you alright. But, how did you find my son?"

"I was foraging in the Swine Forest when I heard a train went by, I looked over and saw your son trapped on board. I managed to jump on board and meet your son for the first time, I knew who he was because the media like to advertise him."

"Why was he on a train?"

"He told me the pigs captured him because he discovered they were capturing and cooking birds in this clearing, apparently his curiosity got the better of him, always so with the youngsters."

It was hard to believe RJ's claim, but The Red Baron trusted him. It has been awhile since he had met with old war buddies, ever since the second Angry Birds war. But never had he reunited with an individual bird, ever. He noticed RJ was wheezing sharply, it sounded wrong and frightening, "Are you okay?" asked The Red Baron.

"No," wheezed RJ, "Me and your son fell from a significant height, I took most of the blow from landing. I broke a rib or two, I think. Your son was also injured."

He turned Red Bird onto his side and revealed a flesh wound, it was dry yet it still needed to be treated. "Red." said his mom.

"Honey," said The Red Baron, "Get the First Aid Kit, we'll patch him up and rest for the night."

The Red Baron's mate fetched the First Aid Kit as The Red Baron and Female Red Bird carried Red Bird to the nest, resting him next to Orange Bird as his mom cleaned and bandaged the wound. Once bandaged, they put a blanket over him as his mate kissed him on the cheek.

"Sir," RJ asked The Red Baron, "Can you find me a doctor?"

"We're already have one coming first thing in the morning," said The Red Baron, "One of Red Bird's friends had been attacked awhile watching his children, he was beat up but okay."

Over at the nest, Orange Bird stir as his remaining eye opened. "What," he muttered, "What about me?"

RJ stopped wheezing when he saw Orange Bird, interestingly enough the two do look similar. "Hey," said Orange Bird, "Are you RJ?"

"Yes," said RJ, "And you are?"

"Orange Bird, I'm your great-grandson. I... I don't know what to say, I never thought I would meet a living ancestor."

"How exactly old are you RJ?" asked The Red Baron.

"I'm 95, I had a mate myself but she's long gone. I had 5 children with her, once they had fledged, I never saw them again."

"You look quite young for a bird your age. I mean, look at me, I look old and I'm in my early sixties."

"I had received the best health care any bird can have, but now I must fend for myself. I hadn't seen any family members since I was thirty, it is great to meet up with a descendent."

"I honestly thought you were dead," said Orange Bird, "My dad told me that you had died from an explosion."

"Almost died actually," said RJ, "See this scar, shrapnel from the explosion did that. I think that was during the first Angry Birds war, maybe that was why I was mostly forgotten. How ironic, I got injured again by an explosion."

"Then you must rest," said The Red Baron's mate, "Or you'll hurt yourself even more."

"I had been through a lot, more so than you could ever imagine."

The Red Baron's mate managed to get RJ into the nest with Orange Bird and Red Bird, seems that the nest is going to be packed tonight. The Red Baron eventually puts out the fire in the fireplace and joined everyone in the nest, once he found a comfortable spot he and all the other birds managed to sleep throughout the night.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	12. Ch 12: Ransom

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The following morning, Red Bird's eyes flickered opened. He couldn't remember much of what had happened last night, all he remembered was running into the house and pass out mid-sentence. He let out a soft yawn, Red Bird thought of sleeping a little more but a rumble in his tummy indicated he was hungry. Red Bird looked around the single-room house. He found his mate sleeping snugly next to him, along with her was Orange Bird and RJ. Red Bird remembered that he was in his parents' house, not his own home. Speaking of his parents, where are they?

Female Red Bird stirred and opened her eyes and saw Red Bird was awake, she wound up hugging him tight without warning, "Red!" she cried, "How I missed you!"

"Mate?" he asked, stunned from the volume of her voice, "Oh yeah, I missed you too."

"I worried about you," said Red Bird, "You hadn't came home and Orange Bird here told me about that slingshot accident."

"The slingshot, wait until I get my talons around Boomerang Bird's neck. By the way, where's Ma and Dad?"

"I... I don't know, I remembered it was a full nest last night."

"I see why. But anyway, it's good to be with you again mate. Are the kids with them as well?"

Female Red Bird remained silent, he could tell she was about to cry, "What happened?" he asked.

"The pigs had taken them," said Female Red Bird, "They gave Orange Bird a black eye in the progress, this wasn't how pigs do things and I'm scared. We all thought we'll never see you and the chicks ever again. But your dad knew you would come back."

Red Bird didn't know what to say, he was left speechless from the news. His heart, still sore from his kidnapping, dropped to his stomach like a stone. He had went through all that trouble in the past two years just to produce kids, just to have kids. His position on being a father was threatened, his world threatened to go down with that position. He knew he couldn't start over, Female Red Bird couldn't handle the stress from egg laying anymore. He rest his head on Female Red Bird's shoulders, Red Bird was in no mood to cry yet he still wanna let out his grief somehow.

"Don't worry honey," he said, "We'll find our chicks, we'll bring them home."

The front door popped open and Red Bird saw his mom and dad walked through, with them was a chicken which looked like a doctor. "Mom?" asked Red Bird, "Dad?"

"Son," said The Red Baron, "You're awake, seeing you drop to the floor like that made me think you were going to die on us."

"It was a rough travel back home," said Red Bird, "Even though it wasn't that long, it felt like forever to me."

"Is this your son?" asked the doctor.

"My remaining son," said The Red Baron, "He came back last night with another injured bird, get this, the bird and Orange Bird are related."

"More work for me to do, luckily my schedule hadn't been busy since the end of the second war."

"Your welcome." said Red Bird.

"Could you please move so I can take a look at RJ and Orange Bird?"

"Sure."

Red Bird and his mate stepped out of the nest as the doctor took a look at RJ and Orange Bird, "By God," said the doctor, "These birds are hurt alright, I'm more used to birds crashing into walls but getting injured from the pigs directly is another thing entirely. No matter, I'll fix them up good as new."

"Son," said Red Bird's mom, "Why not you go out and get something to eat?"

"Sure mom." said Red Bird.

"Oh son," said The Red Baron, "Please be careful, I don't wanna loose you again."

"I will."

Red Bird and his mate head outside and were just about to walk away when they saw a green pig came walking up to them, they were cautious, having already lost so much they're not taking any chances. "Red Bird," said the pig as he held up a envelope, "You got mail."

"I do?" he asked, his alarms being disengaged in the process.

"Yeah, the sender wasn't very happy, just to warn you."

Red Bird took the envelope and the pig walked away, after he got within earshot from the cardinals Red Bird opened up the envelope and took out the letter, he read it out loud:

_Red Bird,_

_Head over to these coordinates if you ever want to see your chicks alive again, if you fail to show up within 12 hours upon receiving this letter they will be executed at once. Our demands will be revealed in person, you can bring love ones if you want._

_Sincerely, _

_You know who._

Red Bird's eyes shot open, he glanced back at his mate before looking back at the letter. He let out a curse before barging back into the house, his parents were stunned from the sudden reaction. "We got a ransom!" he cried, "And we got 12 hours to reply!"

"What?" asked The Red Baron, "What are you talking about?"

Red Bird handed them the letter and The Red Baron skimmed through it quickly, "By God," he said, "I hadn't done a ransom before."

"They're going to tell us in person, call in the cavalry!"

"Wait," said Red Bird's mom, "What if it's a trap?"

"All ransoms are a trap, its not like you can go around them."

"Since whoever sent this said we can bring friends along," said The Red Baron, "Then they might be willing to comply. Doc, can you stay here and watch over the birds?"

"Sure," said the doctor, "I'll be here if you take all day."

"Okay Red," said The Red Baron, "Let's gather up as much reinforcements as possible, if they won't comply we'll bring in the slingshot and finish them off like old times."

"Promise me you won't launch yourself from the slingshot," said Red Bird, "I promise I won't."

"Promise."

. . .

"Red Bird has received the letter, sire."

"Excellent," said the pig boss to his courier, "The timer has started, go outside and wait for him. Call me when he arrives."

"Yes, sire."

The courier heads outside as the pig boss sat in his throne, the small abandoned castle will had to do for the ransom. Already he had recruited a few pigs from the capital to help him with the job, they weren't happy about it but they comply anyway. The pig boss glanced over to the cage where the three baby cardinals lay, they were shivering, having been removed from their mother's warmth caused them to loose their body temperature fast. They managed to huddle together to keep warm, which helped them get through the night. These pests will soon served their purpose, once that is done the pig boss plans to toss them out the window and forget about it.

"Please don't hurt us." one of them squealed.

"You just sit tight," said the pig boss, "Once your daddy comes along, I'll let you go. Simple as that."

"I'm hungry." said another baby cardinal.

"So is your father when I once had him, truth is he was in a more sorry state than you three. He's a fragile pest, I know what to use to take care of him."

The pig boss got up and approached a case sitting on a table before him, he pulled off the cloth protecting it and opened it up. Inside was a UTG Master Sniper Bolt Action Airsoft Rifle, it fires 6mm steel pellets up to 80 meters. Muzzle Velocity is 420 FPS and the gun weighs about 3 kilos, this pellet gun will help him do his sinister job. He put the rifle together and added a scope that uses round mil-dots for distance measuring, he added the bi-pod before loading the ammunition into the pellet gun. He was an expert marksman with these rifles, even though firearms were illegal under King Pig's rule, but that's not going to stop him accomplishing vengeance.

"Sire?" asked a pig servant, "What is that for?"

"You'll see," said the pig boss, "You'll see."

He heads outside where he practiced shooting the rifle, taking careful potshots at anything worth shooting. The pig boss soon became tune with the rifle, able to accurately shoot rounds around its maximum range. He recalled that range weapons were illegal to use against some of the birds, stated clearly in the Migrating Birds Act of 19-something. The cardinal just so happened to be protected under this act, but it was not properly enforced and so many cardinals and other songbirds were captured and enslaved for their singing. Heck, birds are only good at revealing their position with their singing.

After half an hour, the pig boss head inside and sat back on his throne. He held the rifle like a staff as he waited for Red Bird to show, it just so happened that he didn't have to wait long.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	13. Ch 13: Pest Control

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The Red Baron managed to pull all of his resources together and call upon some Angry Birds to join him and his family against the pigs, one by one Yellow Bird, White Bird, the Blue Bird trio, Big Brother Bird and Boomerang Bird showed. Boomerang Bird appeared shy, he knew what he did was wrong but his reputation for being clumsy probably saved him. Red Bird couldn't work up much hate for Boomerang Bird, since he had saved the day once. He put his grudges against him aside, Red Bird knew he is going to need all the help he could get his hands on.

"Okay," said The Red Baron, "Is that everyone?"

"Look's like it, Dad." said Red Bird.

"Everyone stick together," explained Red Bird, "Since we hadn't done a ransom before, there's a chance that his could go very badly. Everyone keep your cool so we could get the chicks out alive."

All the birds nodded before heading off across the savanna, the coordinates the pigs had given them shown that they're not that far off. Seeing how close they were to home sends a trickle of fear down a few bird's spines. Okay, this might be too close for comfort.

After half an hour of walking, the Angry Birds managed to see the castle at the far distance. It looked relatively small, smaller than what the pigs use conventionally. Maybe there wasn't a large force of them, if true, then King Pig was unaware of what was happening. It also brings sight of turning the pigs against themselves, which will free the birds from egg poaching for awhile.

As the draw near, everyone held their breath. "You have a plan in mind, son?" asked The Red Baron.

"Uh, yeah." said Red Bird, "I have a plan, but it's unorthodox."

. . .

"Sire!" screamed the courier as he came running back into the room, "The Angry Birds are here! Red Bird is with them!"

"Excellent!" said the pig boss as he held up his pellet gun, "Step aside and shield your eyes."

"Wha- What are you doing with that?"

"Watch if you're brave enough."

The pig boss headed onto the balcony as fellow pigs joined him at the balcony, "Get the chicks," he ordered, "Set them right here."

The pigs brought the cage of Red Bird's chicks and sat them on the edge of the balcony, there they watched the Angry Birds approach. The pig boss saw that the birds, as always, were dragging a giant slingshot with them. Probably when negotiations fail, they'll eventually resort to conventional means.

The pig boss took aim with his pellet gun and focused the cross hairs over Red Bird, he tuned the scope to the appropriate height and adjust for the wind. He was surprised they hadn't spotted him yet, even though they were at a distance where they could make out objects. Typical for birds, they're too dumb to figure out the unusual. The pig boss will use this to his advantage, and so hovered his finger over the trigger.

And fired.

. . .

Red Bird saw the pellet coming, even though he tried to dodge it the pellet struck him hard on the chest, closet to the sernum. The pain alone brought Red Bird down, collapsing onto the ground like a heavy load. He didn't know this was what being shot feels like, he expected tremendous pain yet it felt no more than a bee sting. Regardless on how injured he was, he still put up quite a show, which no doubt pleased some of the pig boss. Red Bird could see him on the balcony of the castle armed with his pellet gun, simply watching him.

Red Bird's fellow friends screamed as they rolled him onto his back, The Red Baron examined where the pellet hit him and realized it looked bad. "Son," he said, "Are you having any trouble breathing?"

"No," said Red Bird, "The bone stopped the pellet."

"Pellet? So that's what hit you."

"What else could it be?"

"A projectile from a sling."

"Or a sling_shot_."

. . .

The pig boss watched as the birds crowd around their fallen comrade, he couldn't see Red Bird, there was no way to tell if he was still alive or not. He thought of a plan that may cause the birds to move just enough for a clear visual on him, and it may just work.

"Let the chicks go," said the pig boss, "We need them no more."

The pigs hesitated at first, since they were still horrified at what the boss did to Red Bird. Nonetheless, they took the cage of baby cardinals downstairs and out to the front door where they released them. The chicks were more in shock to see their father injured than the pigs, so they rushed to his aid as fast as their little bodies can take tehm. The pig boss watched as they came near the flock, the birds moved away revealing Red Bird on the ground. He could still see he was still alive, and so took aim for a second shot.

. . .

"Daddy!" cried the chicks.

Red Bird looked up and saw his children running towards him, "Kids?" he crooned.

He saw the pellet too late, it struck him harder than the last one, this time he felt the round ripping through his belly and exiting out the back. The smell of blood that had been sprayed by the pellet told Red Bird that this round might be fatal, as long as his kids are in safe wings he would remain at peace.

"They're still firing at us!" cried Yellow Bird.

"Retreat!" ordered The Red Baron, "Let's get him to a doctor, now!"

. . .

"Okay, f#ck this!" cursed one of the pigs.

The pig boss turned and saw one of his servants coming at him with eyes of defection, he had no time to react as the pig knocked him down with one blow. Other pigs soon defected, including the armor pigs. They had all defected and were against the pig boss. Even though he wasn't surprised, since they were all opposed to the idea to begin with, he was still shocked from the massive effort they put.

"What is the meaning of this!" he barked.

"For Red Bird." said one of the pigs.

Red Bird had done his job well, he'd influenced the younger generation with both his singing and diplomacy, even King Pig was touched by him. The pig boss gave him credit for that, but at least he succeeded in his mission for vengeance. All he need to do now was to sit and wait for news of Red Bird's death to reach him.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	14. Ch 14: In A Long Shot

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Claimer: Go to my profile to view my characters**

The doctor taking care of RJ and Orange Bird watched as they rest in the nest, sleeping peacefully. He was staring at RJ in particular, looking down at him as he sleeps. He remembered RJ back in the first Angry Birds war, the little cocky bird had a vicious taste for sweets, so much so that the sweet tooth often raid the candy stores of some pig castles just to get a bite of chocolate. He never really knew much of RJ personally, yet it wasn't the first time he had treated him for injuries.

During the first Angry Birds war, the doctor treated RJ for shrapnel damage on his side. He could clearly see the old bird still bearing the scar that forever marked him, maybe RJ had all but forgotten about it since no one bothered to ask. Those days were harsh, the doctor had his sympathies for RJ but at least he finally got some sort of, "vacation." Hell, the bird needed to rest sooner or later.

Just as the doctor stepped away from the nest, the frond door barged open, the doctor immediate thought was that the pigs were raiding the small hovel. He breathed in a sigh of relief when he realized it was only the birds, but that doesn't mean he was still worried since the way the door opened sounded serious. When he saw a nearly crying Red Baron carrying his bleeding son into the room, his stomach turned upside down.

"What happened?" he croaked.

"He was shot," cried The Red Baron, his voice near breaking, "What was even more surprising was that the pigs attacked the swine who shot him, they were fighting each other by the time we ran for the hills!"

"Oh my," said the doctor, "Get me my surgical equipment, everyone clear the room."

All the birds except The Red Baron, RJ, and Orange Bird head outside and shut the door behind them. The Red Baron handed the doctor his medical bag, he glanced up at one of the windows and saw Red Bird's mom peaking through the window. Her face was worrisome, a tear was on the verge of being taken over by gravity.

If I screw up, the doctor thought, I would be exiled by the birds for failure, I hope that would not happen."

The doctor opened his medical bag and pulled out the scalpel and pure alcohol, he quickly disinfected the wound before assessing it, "The pellet went right through him and landed somewhere in the grass," said The Red Baron, "I don't know how much damaged was caused, all I know is that he's bleeding bad."

He could see that some blood was pouring out of him like an overflowing bathtub, not a good sign at all, "The pellet probably struck his liver," said the doctor, "Start up a small fire at the fireplace, I know of something I could use to stop the bleeding."

As The Red Baron lit a fire at the fire place, the doctor began to open up Red Bird at the entrance wound of the pellet. Once cut open, he peered at his liver and saw that the pellet simply grazed it. Even though the wound looked no more like a scrape on the knee, it was oozing out a lot of blood, the doctor will still have to work fast in healing the wound.

"Okay," said The Red Baron, "The fire is burning, will this file do?"

The Red Baron held up a sanding file, the things famous for old school jail breaks, "That will do," said the doctor, "Stick one end into the fire and heat it till its red hot, then I'll show you what I'll do with it."

The old bird put the file's tip into the fire, after a couple of minutes the tip began to glow red hot. The doctor picked up the cool end and held it up to view, he could see that the tip was glowing red hot as expected.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked The Red Baron as the doctor walked back to Red Bird.

"I'm going to burn the wound shut."

Without warning, the doctor jabbed the hot end of the file onto Red Bird's liver wound. The sudden pain caused Red Bird to wake up, letting out a small cry in the process. "Hot, hot!" he yelled, "It's very, very hot!"

The doctor reached into his medical bag and pulled out a syrette, he pulled off the cap with his teeth and stabbed Red Bird with the mosquito nose-shaped needle and pumped its contents into his system.

"Uhh," muttered The Red Baron, unsure what he was seeing.

"Morphine shot," said the doctor, "Helps numb the pain."

Red Bird began to breath easier as the drug quickly kicked in. He sighed as he let out a small smile, a sign of addiction, "How are you doing there, buddy?" asked the doctor.

"Groovy," muttered Red Bird, "What smells good?"

"Cooked liver, your liver."

"Oh... crap."

With that, Red Bird pasts out again. The Red Baron took a step back as the doctor removed the file and sat it aside, "Wound is sealed," he said, "Now I'll seal up his lacerations, patch him up, and wait for him to come to."

"Oh, thank you doc," said The Red Baron, "Thank you."

"I do this for a living, knowing you birds I may see you sometime soon."

. . .

Red Bird stirred as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, a combination of hunger and hurt. His eyes opened as he stared up at the ceiling, remembered getting shot by the pig boss but that was all he remembered. He felt a sharp pain in his back, and recalled the pellet had exited out of it. Instead of pellet holes, there were plasters covering them. He soon forgotten the pain when he smelled food in the air, and that wasn't all he sensed.

"Wakey, wakey, red birdy." said RJ's voice.

He looked around and saw the old bird staring down at him as he sat on the edge of the nest, what caught Red Bird's eye was the patch over his chest. Looks like the oriole had his operation and it went off smoothly, "RJ," said Red Bird, "You're alright."

"And you are too," said RJ, "I heard what happened to you after I woke up, the doctor told me me and my great-grandson slept through the whole operation. No kidding."

"Damn."

"He managed to patch me up too, stapled my ribs back in place. I never felt so alive, I mean, I admit that I had said that quote a dozen or so times already but heck, I had beaten death again. Thanks for getting me to safety Red Bird, no bird hadn't gone this far as you had."

"It's all in a day's work."

"Another chapter to your biography I suppose."

"Where's Orange Bird anyway?"

"He went off with the rest of your friends, your kids are coming over soon and your mate with them. I think your dad is sleeping... in his chair."

RJ looked past him before Red Bird turned around and saw his father sleeping on his chair, he let out a soft snore as he napped. Red Bird looked near the nest and saw a full plate of food, with his mouth watering he dug in with his beak. RJ chuckled as Red Bird gorged on the food, almost near choking point.

By the time Red Bird finished the meal, he heard his father stir. He looked up and saw The Red Baron opened his eyes, they were droopy, yet he was awake.

"Dad!" cried Red Bird with tears of joy.

He shot out of the nest and dove towards his old bird, The Red Baron was taken by surprised as his son hugged him tightly. What ever sleep the old bird still had from his nap was shaken loose from his mind. "Son," he said, "You're awake, I was worried."

"Where is everyone?" asked Red Bird.

"I think your mother is away with your mate, the kids are with them as well."

"I missed you dad, when I was trying to find my way home."

"I missed you too, in fact that was the second time you went missing. When you went missing again, your mother went ballistic. It took awhile to calm her down."

"I was more concerned about you due to your condition, I was afraid that I wouldn't be there when you go."

"Oh, I'd forgotten about the arthritis, where's that Ibuprofen bottle"

Red Bird looked around and found the bottle strewn up against the edge of the room, he lets go of his dad and walked up to the bottle to pick it up. He handed it back to The Red Baron as he took the bottle and put aside for now.

"I love you, dad."

"I love you too, son."

**THE END!**


End file.
